WASHINGTON — The Nationwide Turkey Federation and its members congratulate Joel Brandenberger, NTF president and CEO, because the recipient of the 2024 NTF Lifetime Achievement Award.
Brandenberger acquired the award on Feb. 24 throughout a ceremony at NTF’s 2024 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. Steve Lykken, Jennie-O Turkey Retailer, 2023 NTF chairman, introduced Brandenberger with the award together with a number of esteemed business leaders and CBS Information Chief Washington Correspondent Main Garrett, a longtime good friend of Brandenberger. A number of relations, together with his spouse, Susan, had been current together with shut associates and former colleagues.
Through the presentation, Garrett mentioned, “Joel was my first good friend in Texas, and what everyone knows about Joel is that he’s an excellent and respectable individual; he’s dependable because the day is lengthy. And if somebody was to ask me, ‘Main, title the individual in your life who when you had one thing that needed to be achieved on a selected date and time, who would that individual be?’ and for me, that individual could be Joel Brandenberger.”
“I’ve identified Joel for all of my skilled life, and he’s as dedicated and a hard-working individual as you’ll ever need to know,” mentioned Alice Johnson, Butterball LLC, and a former NTF president. “Throughout my time at NTF as each a employees individual and a member, I discovered to understand how laborious he works and all he does. I’ve additionally had the prospect to have Joel as a good friend and there’s quite a lot of jokes and tales I might inform about Joel, however I’m grateful for him and his spouse, Susan, for serving to me each professionally and personally by way of quite a lot of troublesome occasions and quite a lot of enjoyable occasions.”
“After we had been searching for the following individual to guide NTF, I labored with the Board of Administrators to advertise Joel and it’s been an excellent factor ever since,” mentioned Mike Briggs, NTF’s 2006 chairman. “Joel now has labored on his seventh Farm Invoice, which is unimaginable. He has additionally been concerned with each main program that the business has created and brought half in. He has been an excellent good friend, I’m very pleased with what he has achieved, and I’m additionally proud I’ve been in a position to be part of it and I want him luck.”
Brandenberger joined NTF in Might 1991 as director of public affairs and introduced his retirement in 2024 after 33 years at NTF, together with 17 years as president and CEO of the group. He was promoted to vp of legislative affairs in 1995 and senior vp for legislative affairs in 2001 earlier than changing into NTF’s fifth CEO in December 2006.
A local of Houston, Brandenberger is a distinguished alumnus of Texas Tech College, the place he graduated in 1982 with a journalism diploma. Previous to becoming a member of NTF, he was a newspaper reporter and editor earlier than working for legislative places of work within the Texas Senate and U.S. Home of Representatives.
