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A P R I L 2 0 1 6 POTATO GROWER 5 the future of this industry and will take an aggressive approach in doing so added new Potatoes USA Chairman Mike Pink. The potato is an essential part of the American diet and should be something peo- ple can enjoy with pride. With its new strategic plan mission and business name Potatoes USA is pre- pared to lead the way. Your Representation Each year we elect growers to repre- sent the states on the promotion board. The following growers repre- sent our two states on the Potatoes USA Board. From North Dakota - Eric Halverson from Grand Forks Carl Hoverson and Casey Hoverson from Larimore Bill Sheldon from Ray and Jeff VanRay from Pingree. Minnesota board members are Jeff Edling and Gary Gray both from Clear Lake and Justin Dagen of Karlstad. The Board is divide into regions North Dakota and Minnesota are part of the North Central Region that also includes South Dakota Missouri Nebraska Wisconsin Ohio Illinois Indiana and Michigan. Board members from each region caucus and elect repre- sentation on the Administrative Committee. There are also sub- committee assignments. From our area Casey Hoverson will be on the Finance Committee Eric Halverson was chosen for International Marketing and Justin Dagen will serve on Industry Outreach. Executive Members from the North- Central Region are John Halverson from Missouri and Steve Gangwish representing South Dakota. Carl Hoverson will remain on the Executive Committee as Past- Chairman. Food Truck First Spud Nation Food Truck was on Display at the Annual Meeting. The food truck is part of Potato USAs new marketing and education program. The truck is based in Denver. The next one will be based in Washington DC with more to follow after an evaluation of the program. The state-of-the art food truck is owned by the 2500 farming fami- lies involved in the potato industry. This means Potatoes USA will con- trol how potatoes are used and pre- sented and the messages used. It will operate like any other food truck selling food in this case pota- to based dishes to the public at opportune locations. If successful the trucks could be franchised to private business but no decisions will be made until an evaluation of the program is made after a year or two of operation. The Spud Nation food truck will enable Potatoes USA to carry its message to market with messaging about the health benefits of pota- toes which has been gathered over many years of research. It will be a small yet extremely visible and growing part of the Potato USA mar- keting programs that will provide a direct marketing channel for engag- ing consumers with new and inno- vative potato dishes.The Spud Nation food truck was showing off what it could do at the annual meeting. Carl Hoverson gives his closing remarks as USPB Chairman.