Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Sweeps National Communications Contest

November 22, 2023
8:00 am

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA) recently earned two top awards in the National Milk Producers Federation’s (NMPF) annual cooperative communications contest. Jay Bryant, CEO, and Lindsay Reames, EVP of Sustainability & External Relations accepted the awards at the 2023 Joint Annual Meeting of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), NMPF, and United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) in Orlando.

MDVA Member Austin Schwartzbeck from Peace & Plenty Farm in Union Bridge, Maryland earned the NMPF Farmer Communicator of the Year Award for his desire to share his love story – for both dairy and his wife – to local media outlets on the fringes of the Maryland State Fair. MDVA was awarded Cooperative Communicator of the Year, beating out 14 other U.S. dairy cooperatives.

“Our farmer-focused story is what resonates with all audiences,” said Reames. “No matter if we’re communicating directly to farmers, our customers, or directly to consumers buying our Maola Local Dairies products, we shape our messages to lead with the story of our family-owned dairy farms. We thank our farmer-owners for investing in our communications and marketing department so we can contribute to their profitability.”

MDVA also earned:

First place in the profile feature category for the story “MDVA Member Stands as Beacon of Service to Others.” The same story took Best of Show across all writing categories.
First place in the e-newsletter category
First place in scenic photography
Second place in the special purpose category for MDVA’s 2023 calendar
Second place in the promotional video category
First place in the advertisement category

###

Photo (L to R): Randy Mooney, NMPF Chair, Lindsay Reames, EVP of Sustainability & External Relations at MDVA, and Jay Bryant, CEO, MDVA

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association is a community of more than 900 dairy farm families in 10 states passionate about cultivating dairy goodness and bottling fresh Maola brand milk and dairy products. Our farmer-owned cooperative owns five dairy processing plants that process more than three billion pounds of milk annually. Our diverse portfolio of dairy products are then distributed to consumers in the United States and ingredients customers worldwide. Our cooperative is a leader in sustainability, partnering across the supply chain to deliver sustainable solutions to our member farms. We take pride in supporting the educational and nutritional needs of the communities in our milkshed through our MDVA Fund. For more information about Maryland & Virginia, visit: www.mdvamilk.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 22, 2023 Contact: Amanda Culp, aculp@mdvamilk.com, 540-333-9873 Date line: Orlando, Florida