Three Butterball employees were recognized for their leadership and career accomplishments at the International Production & Processing Expo show.

Butterball Senior Veterinarian Eric Gonder received the Lamplighter Award recognizing individuals for “sustained and exemplary service” to the poultry industry. Gonder has been with Butterball for more than 30 years and is responsible for turkey health, animal care and well-being and live operations disaster response.

“Eric has devoted his life to the turkey industry and is always the first to provide educated counsel and expertise on industry issues,” says Alice Johnson, senior vice president of food safety and animal care and well-being. “He is a tremendous asset to the Butterball team, and this award is a testament to his service in the poultry industry.” 

Two other Butterball employees were recognized by IPPE’s “30 Under 30” program for their professional leadership qualities within the meat and poultry manufacturing industry.

Jeff Niedermeyer joined Butterball in 2019 as a quality assurance lab manager. He is responsible for assisting in the development and maintenance of laboratory and microbiological programs, chemical and microbial analyses, and product and environmental monitoring. Additionally, he provides leadership to plant, lab and personnel to assure that internal and external product specifications are achieved and maintained.

Coltin Caraway joined Butterball in 2018 as a nutritionist, responsible for the development, implementation, and support of feeding programs for all Butterball turkeys. He provides technical expertise in the formulation of feeds, compliance with government feed regulations and identification of factors relating to feed performance.