For its 60th Annual Convention, National Meat Association (NMA) returns to a location rife with association history: The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. This year’s location will allow attendees to reminisce some of the events that started it all in 1946, from the days of the Western States Meat Packers Association to the future of the NMA.

The convention, scheduled for March 1-4, 2006, will feature plenty of activities, from educational sessions and presentations by big-name speakers to social activities, such as the NMA Golf Tournament and Gourmet Sausagefest.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Joseph W. Luter, III, chairman and CEO of Smithfield Foods. He will brief attendees at the Saturday Annual Meeting, March 4, with his insights on the present and future status of meat.

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will speak during the opening general session on Thursday, March 2. Secretary Johanns repositioned agriculture as a major contributor in the national economy, and his tireless efforts to meet with international contacts, in cooperation with other administration leaders, have helped immeasurably to reopen critical markets for U.S. beef.

Updates on crucial industry issues will be presented at the Board of Directors Meeting Friday morning, by guest speakers Dr. Ron deHaven, administrator for the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, and Dr. Barbara Master, administrator for the Food Safety & Inspection Service. As always, NMA’s Annual Convention will be packed with roundtable seminars. Roundtable speakers will include: Barry Carpenter, Director, Livestock & Feed Div., USDA; Jeff Savell, Professor and E.M. Rosenthal Chairholder, Texas A&M University; Kerri Harris, President, International HACCP Alliance; and many more.

NMA will also host a special breakfast session on The Future for Meat with featured speakers Steve Harper of HEB, Steve Erickson of Outback Steakhouse, Dave Theno of Foodmaker, Inc. and John Nalivka of Sterling Marketing. This PDQ session will give you a convention’s worth of digestible information in fifteen-minute portions.

Social events and entertainment options abound for attendees, highlighted Friday by the Golf Tournament and Gourmet Sausagefest. Attendees will, once again, be given the opportunity to select their favorite product of the evening for the popular and fun “Hold the Mustard” Award.

For more information or a complete brochure on the 60th Annual Convention, contact NMA at 1-510-763-1533, e-mail staff@nmaonline.org, or visit www.nmaonline.org. NP