Our Event Location and host hotel Embassy Suites Hotel North Havana Street, Denver, CO 80239 303-375-0400
AGENDA
Friday, October 23 9:00 – 11:00 AM Tour of Yocom-McColl Laboratories 1:00 – 3:00 PM Tour of Yocom-McColl Laboratories 5:00 – 6:00 PM Registration 6:00 – 8:00 PM Western Hospitality Meet and Greet
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 AM “Today” Session 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Late Registration 9 AM – 9:15 AM Introductions, Meeting Format, Logistics, History 9:15 AM – 12:00 PM Sessions with TODAY's fiber groups AFCNA Alpaca Blanket Project Back to Back Fiber Products North American Alpaca Fiber Producers The Shepherd’s Mill The Suri Network Rocky Mountain Weaving Company 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch Break 1 PM – 1:45 PM Schmidt/Donovan 1:45 PM - 2:00 PM Break 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM Small Business Development Center 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM Break 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM Scott Grey 3:45 PM – 4:30 PM Sam Buff – Gaston College
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 8:30 AM – 9 AM Recap, Logistics 9:00 AM – 10 AM "Repositioning a product" Dr. Catherine Keske 10 AM – 10:15 AM Break 10:15 Am – 11:15 AM "Marketing Wool Today" Ron Cole, Cole Consulting "Formation of a Wool Co-op" Steve Le Valley, CSU 11:15 AM – 12:00 Noon "Learning from the Wool Path" Panel discussion Angus McColl, Dr. Catherine Keske, Ron Cole, Steve LeValley, John Anderson, Bob "Woody" Woodbury 12:00 noon – 1:00 PM Lunch 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM John Anderson 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Open forum 3:00 PM Wrap-up
PRESENTERS
David Schmidt, President Kraemer Textiles Education: graduate of the Hill School (Pottstown, Pa). 2 y ears completed at St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., no college degree (I went into the family business immediately). Career 32 years in the Textile industry. 6 years as a shift supervisor, 6 as plant manager, 4 years as V.P. manufacturing, 4 years as V.P. Sales and Marketing, and 12 years as President. I have extensive experience selling to and trouble shooting yarn problems in carpet, upholstery,knitwear, and other areas of the Textile Industry. Personal: Youth Soccer coach for 20 years,Former Scoutmaster, B.S.A., former chairman, Park and Rec Commission Borough of Emmaus. Married, 2 children, 2 grand children (girls 9 and 7).www.kraemeryarns.com Sam Buff, Textile Testing Specialist -Gaston College Fiber Testing Services
Sam Buff is a Textile Testing Specialist at the Textile Technology Center at Gaston College. Sam joined the Textile Center in August of 2003. Sam spent several years in plant operations of the optical fiber business with Alcatel Telecommunications. He also spent five years as the Quality Control Manager at Spectrum Dyed Yarns. He holds an MBA from Pfeiffer University, a BS in Textile Chemistry from North Carolina State University and an AS in Engineering from Catawba Valley Community College. He resides in Lincolnton, North Carolina on a small farm where he raises beef catte and breeds Redbone Coonhounds. Also, he writes a monthly column for the United Kennel Club.www.gaston.edu/aboutus/campuseast.html
John Anderson, Director, Gaston College Textile Center & East Campus. John joined the Center in November of 2006, after a brief flirtation with retirement. He spent 38 years marketing synthetic fiber with Celanese, Hoechst-Celanese, and Wellman, Inc. He retired from the position of Vice-President, New Products in March of 2006.
He holds an MBA in Marketing from New York University (The Stern School), a BA in Economics from Gettysburg College and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. He also taught Fashion Merchandising at Fashion Institute of Technology as an adjunct faculty member. He resides in Waxhaw, NC and also writes a weekly column for the Charlotte Observer www.gaston.edu/aboutus/campuseast.html
Scott Grey,Sales Manager, Jagger Bros. Inc. Scott was born and raised in New England and enlisted in the US Army 1968-71, during which he served one year in Viet Nam. After working in construction for 3 years, Scott attended Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, graduating in 1977 with a degree in Textile Engineering. He continued his education and, in 1979, earned a Masters Degree from the Intstitute of Textile Technology. He then worked for Pendleton Woolen Mills as Finishing Manager from 1979-83, L.W.Packard Woolen Mills as General Manager 1983-87. Scott the switched from fabric manufacturing to sales when he joined Jagger Brothers in 1987. Jagger Brothers is a custom sales yarn spinner, located in Springvale, Maine, where they spin yarn from combed worsted tops. Jagger spins worsted yarns from 900 ypp to 30,000 ypp in blends of wool, mohair, alpaca, silk, nylon, rayon, polyester, polypropylene and other fibers, suitabel for long staple worsted yarns. Scott's daily responsibilities include purchasing the raw fibers used in spinning, leading yarn development discussions with new and existing customers as well as handling questions, comments, complaints that occur in the day to day operation of a custom sales yarn spinning mill.
Steve LeValley,Colorado State University Livestock Extension/Outreach Steve is the sheep and wool specialist in the Department ofAnimal Sciences. He provides leadership for the Sheep and Wool industry in Colorado and coordinates and develops materials for youth projects dealing with livestock. He has been involved with Sheep Quality Assurance efforts with the American Sheep Industry Association and the Colorado 4-H program. Le Valley is also the General Livestock Superintendent at the Colorado State Fair Ope and Junior Beef Superintendent at the National Western Stock Show.
Research efforts include ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis in sheep, development of HACCP and TQM programs for lamb processing plants. Further efforts include baseline microbial contamination levels in lamb carcasses and the development of the lamb vision system as a predictor of lamb carcass red meat yield and carcass value.
Ron Cole,Cole Consultants After retiring from his 37-year career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Livestock and Grain Market News, Ron Cole started as a wool consultant for the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) in September, 2009.
A native of Colorado, Cole attended Colorado State University to study animal science. After graduating, he joined the USDA as a meat grader. After four years of extensive travel in this branch, Cole chose to join the market news branch working in Missouri, Iowa, Washington and Colorado. He has worked in all phases of livestock, grain and meat reporting, both at the local and national levels. Due to this experience, Cole has extensive knowledge of all agricultural sectors. Over the past 10 years, Cole has worked closely with the sheep and wool industries.
In his new position, Cole will be assisting with the expansion of ASI’s wool quality programs, such as AWEX-ID (Australian Wool Exchange Identification) and wool-market transparency. He will conduct market analysis of the industry and assist with producer outreach.
“During the past 15 years, I have met hundreds of people in the sheep industry and hope that I can provide useful information related to production and marketing so that we can expand the industry rather than continue the lower-production trends of the past few years,” explains Cole. “I am excited about continuing to work in the sheep and wool industry, and look forward to working with members in all phases of our industry in the future.”
Catherine Keske, Colorado State University Catherine Keske is an assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. She is also the Associate Director of CSU’s Institute for Livestock and the Environment. She earned a M.S. degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University. She has eight years of industry experience, in addition to her work in academia.
Catherine has enjoyed working with alpaca and livestock producers in various aspects of risk management and marketing over the past several years. Catherine’s research focus includes risk management, bio-energy, rural development, recreation economics, and land policy (including conservation easements). At CSU, she teaches sustainable waste and water management, energy policy and economics, and economic measurement. She is also an adjunct professor at the Denver University Sturm College of Law, where she teaches graduate environmental and resource economics.
SPONSORS The Alpaca Fiber Symposium would like to extend our thanks to the following sponsors and supporters who are helping to make the October Symposium event another phenomenal success as was the April event in North Carolina.If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the next symposium in October 23-25, 2009 or any future fiber symposium, please contact Jillian Ramsay Stern at 724-822-4572
Are you a felter? If you are and have projects done from alpaca fiber that you'd like to show off, send or bring them to the October Symposium in Denver. The Symposium and the Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies (ABR) are co-hosting an exhibit of felting with alpaca fiber. Never worked with alpaca fiber? Talk to Barb Ziek of the ABR affiliate and she'll get you some. You can reach her and get the details at bziek@aol.com .
