Williams receives recognition, award from OSU at Honors Night

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources depends greatly on industry leaders who contribute to its mission.

John Williams, resident of Edmond, Oklahoma, was recently recognized as a 2015 DASNR Champion for just that. A North Dakota State University graduate, Williams launched Chef’s Requested Foods in 1979 in Oklahoma City. The company is for meat-focused food service clients with center-of-the-plate products and retail premium meat products.

Today, as president, he employs nearly 200 Oklahomans, selling more than a million pounds of value-added meat/food products each year to local, regional and national retail outlets and through major food service distributors.

“While John is not one of our alumni, we are proud and honored to be able to call him a friend, and now a DASNR Champion,” said Tom Coon, vice president, dean and director of DASNR. “He’s had tremendous professional success and we are very appreciative of the support and leadership he has shown us over the years.”

Williams began his professional career as a marketing research analyst at the Hormel Food Company in Austin, Minnesota, specifically for Dinty Moore products, SPAM products, Hormel Chili and others.

Williams was a member of the Industry Advisory Committee of the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center from 2006-2015. He chaired the active subcommittee on food safety, which was responsible for the development and launch of the food safety option in the food science curriculum.

“John brought life into a committee that certainly did a wonderful job, but they weren't as interactive as they needed to be,” said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “He was a catalyst for helping that committee become interactive with me, and with the university.”

Williams has been instrumental in assisting FAPC to create the Global Food Safety Initiative food safety program, allowing FAPC to proactively assist food processors across the state.

“He is a wonderful person for being able to take academic logic and converting it to practicality and making something work,” Escoubas said. “John's a quick learner, he's thoughtful, he's innovative, he's not one quickly to respond to something, but when he starts talking, he's got an amazing ability to think while he's talking.”

He has served as the president, treasurer and board member of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Williams is a member of the Central Oklahoma Manufacturer’s Association and a founding member and past president of the Made in Oklahoma Coalition.

Aside from his involvement and leadership with FAPC, he has been a key support to the department of animal science, having been a crucial donor of meat for the annual Animal Science Banquet for several years.

Also recognized as 2015 DASNR Champions were Linda Cline and Rita Sparks.