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Delmarva Chicken Association presented three awards – to Delaware farmer Mack McCary, Maryland business owner Tom Johnson and Delaware Rep. Charles Postles Jr. – whose support, work and advocacy have been crucial to the success of Delmarva's $4.6 billion chicken community. The chicken industry on Delmarva supports 1,225 family farms and 17,000 chicken company employees, along with hundreds of allied businesses.

The awards were presented during the sixth annual Booster BBQ, a premier event for DCA members and invited guests at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. More than 900 DCA members and others in the chicken community attended the event, which featured barbecued chicken donated by Allen Harim Foods and prepared and served by Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company and Harrington Fire Company & Ladies Auxiliary, desserts from Schlabach's Ice Cream and UDairy Creamery, door prizes, more than 60 vendors, lawn games and more.

The J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award: Mack McCary
Since 1956, Delmarva Chicken Association has recognized a person who has served the chicken industry and the community with distinction. This award is named after one of the founders of DCA and its first executive secretary, and it recognizes those who are active members of DCA and other chicken industry organizations, who contribute time and services to the chicken community, and participate in civic and community betterment. This year, the J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award was presented to Mack McCary, a chicken grower in Frankford, Del.

McCary has seen all sides of the chicken industry during a long career in feed mill management, and also as a grower for more than 50 years. After serving his country in the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, he returned to his hometown of Roxana, Delaware in 1968 to start a chicken farm. He also worked as a production manager for the feed business of Delaware-based chicken company Townsends for 25 years, overseeing grain storage, milling, and an oil refining operation. He was deeply involved in DCA's Growout Management Committee and the Nutrition and Feed Manufacturing Committee. Once retired from Townsends and as a grower, he became a member of the Grower Committee and was the committee's chairman from 2010 to 2017. He was DCA's board president in 2016.

"The more you see of what DCA does, and the people who volunteer their time and energy, you see how it all works, and how everybody seems to put their best foot forward," McCary - a DCA member since 1968 – said. "I never dreamed I'd ever be here. A lot of good people I know have gotten this award. To be mentioned along with their names, it means a lot to me."

The J. Frank Gordy Delmarva Distinguished Citizen Award: Mack McCary and Norma Lee McCary

The Edward H. Ralph Medal of Achievement: Tom Johnson
The Edward H. Ralph DCA Medal of Achievement, named after Ed Ralph, DCA's first full-time executive director, goes to a non-elected person for outstanding service on behalf of Delmarva's chicken community. The award was presented this year to Tom Johnson, owner of Eastern Shore Forest Products.

Johnson's company plays one of the most important behind-the-scenes roles in bringing chicken to people's plates: producing chicken litter, the bedding in Delmarva's chicken houses. Eastern Shore Forest Products is the largest forest product manufacturing firm in Maryland. Johnson got his start cutting firewood on a family chicken farm as a teenager, and once in business, he realized the value that could be found in tailoring wood-shavings litter to the specific needs of each chicken company. His company works with forest landowners all over Delmarva and also produces firewood, pet bedding, pellet fuel, mulch and specialty soils. He's truly dedicated to making sure chickens have the best start possible on the best litter possible.

"At the end of the day, the poultry industry needs to get good-quality meat to consumers in an affordable manner. I think some folks think about that more from the corporate profit side. I really see that from the society-benefitting side," Johnson said. "Poultry is a great, cheap protein, a really wholesome product. All the work that goes into that behind the scenes is all driving toward making sure the quality is good for the customer, and the price is good for the customer. That's underrated, but that's what I like about this industry: constantly trying to figure out a better way."

The Edward H. Ralph Medal of Achievement: Tom Johnson

The DCA Medal of Achievement: Delaware Rep. Charles Postles, Jr.
The DCA Medal of Achievement goes to an elected official for outstanding cooperation with, and service to, Delmarva's chicken community. This year, DCA awarded Delaware Rep. Charles Postles Jr. with the DCA Medal of Achievement.

Postles is well-positioned to help the chicken community thrive as one of a handful of Delaware state lawmakers who are also chicken growers themselves. He is a Kent County grower for Perdue Farms, and early in his career also worked for Farm Credit. He is a longtime DCA member who has in the past led our Grower Committee.

In 2016, his constituents in the 33rd District of the House of Representatives elected him to the General Assembly, and he has served as a lawmaker there ever since. He'll leave Dover after this year, having decided not to run again; in his time in the legislature, he has been an outspoken supporter of the First State's agricultural backbone, and has advocated for important ag education initiatives in schools as well.

"At the time I got interested, there weren't many farmers in the legislature, and I just thought agriculture needs to be represented," Postles said. "Part of the job is just: Here's what the industry is, here's what it does and here's why it's important… You have to think in terms of, what do you want for your kids? What do you want for your grandkids? That's how far decisions that we're making now are going to affect things."

"I always tell people, don't be afraid to come up here to Dover, or email, or call. But it's amazing what showing up in person does."

The Edward H. Ralph Medal of Achievement: Tom Johnson

About Delmarva Chicken Association
Delmarva Chicken Association, founded in 1948, is the Delmarva chicken industry's voice as the premier membership association focusing on advocacy, education and member relations. DCA's vision is to be the most-respected chicken organization in the United States. For more information about the Delmarva Chicken Association, visit www.dcachicken.com or call 302-856-9037.