JUNEAU, Wis. — Dairy owners, managers and professionals from around the country will learn from each other and world-class presenters at the 2018 PDPW Managers Academy for Dairy Professionals™, presented by the Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW). The three-day executive program, themed: “Attitude – Bringing the magic to dairy,” will be held Jan. 16-18, 2018 in Orlando, Fla.
The 2018 Managers Academy will provide advanced people-management strategies, out-of-industry insights, and economic concepts and principles to help our nation’s dairy businesses thrive. The expert speaker line-up, with Lee Cockerell, former executive of Walt Disney World, Jim Sleper, CEO of Southeast Milk, Inc., and Dr. David Kohl, professor emeritus of Virginia Tech and President of AgriVisions, LLC, brings extensive knowledge and on-the-ground experience that will challenge participants and provide the tools to set and achieve their goals.
As Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World, Lee Cockerell was responsible for leading a team of 40,000 cast members to run 20 resort hotels, four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and entertainment village and a sports and recreation complex. He will share the proven strategies, best practices and techniques that Disney uses to create a culture and environment of excellence. Academy participants will take home new insights and ideas to transform how they hire, train, mentor and manage their dairy teams.
Attendees will hear from CEO Jim Sleper, as he shares how the Southeast Milk cooperative partners successfully with large fluid processors such as Publix Super Markets, Dean Foods and Borden’s. They market approximately 2.6 billion pounds of milk annually from 140 dairy farm members. As a full-service cooperative they provide milk hauling, feed, and dairy supplies to its members.
Dr. David Kohl dairy’s most sought after dairy economist, will bring his years of classroom and research experience to help attendees connect therealities of domestic and global economics, trends and perspectives to the challenges and opportunities of their businesses. He will present situations to stimulate critical thinking and help identify new business opportunities.
The program will also include behind-the-scenes tours at Disney World park and the Orlando Easterly Wetlands.
To learn more about the program and to register, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDPW at 1-800-947-7379 and to follow on social media use #ManagersAcademy2018. Registration is limited to first 100 attendees and the fee includes all sessions, training materials, meals, tours and tour travel. Hotel accommodations will be at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, with a special rate available through Dec. 23. Call 1-800-624-4109 for hotel reservations.
Managers Academy for Dairy Professionals is an accredited training and offers up to 16.25 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education units (CEUs) and up to 19.5 CEUs for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. To learn more or secure credits, visit www.DairyAdvance.org.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”
— PDPW
For more news from Wisconsin, click here.