National Chicken Council chooses new chairman, officers

Bernard Leonard

Group Vice President of Food Service Bernard Leonard, of Tyson Foods Inc., was chosen as chairman of the National Chicken Council (NCC).
Sanderson Farms President Lampkin Butts was elected vice chairman and Case Foods President and COO Bill Lovette is the new secretary-treasurer.

Leonard has been with Tyson since 1998, when the company he was with, Hudson Foods, was acquired by Tyson. He spent 12 years on the board of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and has been with the NCC since 2007.

Lampkin Butts

Butts has been with Sanderson since his 1973 graduation from the University of Mississippi, working his way up to president and COO in 2004. He has also been with the NCC since 2004. Lovette has been in the poultry business since 1982, and has been the chairman for both the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.

New members were also elected to one-year terms on the executive committee, three-year terms on the board of directors and one-year terms as directors-at-large. All new officers were installed during the NCC's annual conference.