Thursday, February 21, 2013

Pistachio Conference

(From American Pistachios Blog)

Hello Pistachio-Lovers!

After I came home from Lyon, France I had a few days of rest, but then it was time for the Annual Pistachio Conference!  I was so honored to attend the conference and meet all of the farmers and customers!  The conference was held at the Hyatt in Downtown San Diego.  I met a lot of APG’s customers in France, but I met even more growers and processors at the conference!

There were key speakers along with annual reports about APG.  The portion I was a part of was Judy Hirigoyen’s marketing presentation.  Here, she talked about where APG is being promoted all over the world and how successful our little nut is!  She also presented the APG Ambassadors and it is so cool to be amongst the other ambassadors!  They had the USA Women’s Waterpolo Team there to show off their awesome gold medals from this past Olympics!  They are perfect ambassadors because they are able to promote the athletic and health value of pistachios.  One of the teammates told a story about when she and the rest of the team were visiting some of our military overseas, and afterwards one soldier contacted her to tell her how much they miss home.  However, to make him feel at home, he asked for only one thing: that little green nut.  It’s nice to know that our military overseas want American Pistachios too!  Another ambassador featured is our newest and his name is Jeremy Jones.  This guy is an extreme boarder, but he’s not your everyday snowboarder.  Jeremy snowboards and cuts through deep fresh snow from the tops of the world’s tallest mountains!  Judy showed a video of him in action and there was a scene of him cutting down those sheer drops, but the camera showed him as a speck compared to the size of the mountain.  He is phenomenal!  The cool thing about Jeremy is that he has always eaten Pistachios because he knows they are full of nutrients and protein, which keeps him going as an athlete.  He seems like a perfect fit, doesn’t he?  I was honored to be introduced as an APG Ambassador as well!  Judy introduced me and then I performed on my harp.  The audience was very excited to see Miss California, but they were especially excited to see the harp too!

After the marketing presentation, we ambassadors went out into the lobby for a photo shoot with the guests and it was wonderful to meet and greet with the farmers again!  After the break, we were all headed to the USS Midway for dinner.  Yes, we all got to dine on the USS Midway!  The appetizers were delicious and the people were so much fun to be with.  Before dinner, we were directed up to the flight deck to watch a firework show just for APG! That was pretty awesome!  The dinner was scrumptious and the best part was the dessert.  Each dessert had something “pistachio” in it, so it was very appropriate for the occasion.

The APG conference was a success and I was so glad to be there!  I am now ready to go to China!  I went to the media training last week in Fresno, so I feel even more prepared for the adventures in China.  I really look forward to promoting American Pistachios in Asia with the rest of the team.  I know it’s going to be lots of hard work, but I’m up for the challenge!  I’ll write to you all when I get back!  For now, scroll through my collage below! 

Love,
Leah Cecil
Miss California 2012

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