IBC 2007
By Linda Sautner
IBC 2007 was an excellent convention put on by a lot of very enthusiastic bison industry stakeholders; and Rapid City, SD proved to be a great location for the event. The western heritage of the city and surrounding region was a perfect fit with bison - the heritage animal of North America. The recognition of our heritage animal was evident when you first entered the lobby of the host hotel, the Ramkota, and saw a beautiful tile inlay of a bison on the lobby floor. Artisan works with a bison theme were on display throughout many of the stores ('Prairie Edge' was incredible).
I was delighted when the Canadian Bison Association invited me to assist in working at the CBA booth and be a part of the Canadian contingent, which numbered about 70 out of the 550 attendees. And I think most of those attendees stopped by the CBA booth - it was definitely a busy place! Pauline and I met with not only Americans and fellow Canadians, but also people from Russia, Scotland, England, and Germany. They asked a variety of questions from herd numbers and management practices to export regulations and consumer awareness. We must have provided the right answers as we sold several new memberships! Everyone was very impressed with the quality and variety of the promotional material the Canadian Bison Association has available for both producers and food service industries, and many orders were placed for these materials. We also sold Raffle tickets from our booth on the beautiful bison leather saddle, Harley-Davidson motorcycle with bison leather accessories, and bison coat. (But darn, none of my tickets were the lucky ones when the draws were made.)
Unfortunately, with the booth being so busy, Pauline and I were only able to attend a few of the Conference sessions. Of those I did take in, I admit I especially enjoyed two on cooking bison meat as presented by Bruce Aidell, Aidells Sausage Company and Michael Paley, Executive Chef of Proof on Main, Louisville, KY. (Yes, the best part was in tasting their creations.) "Creating Events and Festivals" by Bill Keitel was most interesting. Bill owns the successful Buffalo Billfold Company, but he shared observations and notes from over 300 days of festivals that were insightful for anyone involved in public presentations.
The time before and after sessions saw large numbers of people going through the Trade Show that displayed a wonderful mix of bison products. These included beautiful bison leather furniture, home décor items, clothing, boots, handbags, crafts and some incredibly lovely jewelry pieces.
But it wasn't all work – the IBC Committee had evening events planned that gave all attendees a chance to unwind and network. Ted Turner was the keynote speaker for the Opening Ceremonies at Mount Rushmore, and began the event with a very positive message for our industry that Senator Tom Daschel added to. But it was Ted that was thrilled when he was inducted in a special ceremony into the National Buffalo Foundation's Hall of Fame. Watching the eagles soar gracefully above the monument as the sun was setting, then taking in the Lighting Ceremony at 9 all provided for a very moving evening. Wednesday evening was the Foundation Dinner at Crazy Horse Memorial for 125 attendees, or the Flying T Chuckwagon Supper and Show for the rest of us. I heard the Foundation Dinner was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience as promised; but have to say we had fun and a good meal at the Flying T. Thursday evening saw all of us in the downtown area of for the Taste of Rapid City Block Party. Area restaurants served delightful tastes bison meat prepared in many different ways. (Didn't need supper after that.) Deadwood City was the destination on Friday where IBC attendees could take a trolley ride to Boot Hill or the oldest gold mine in the world, or try their luck gambling at one of the numerous casinos. 6 pm was the start time of the PRCA Deadwood Days Rodeo, and there was a large group from the bison conference cheering loudly with the locals. A lunch at Custer State Park on Saturday was followed by a bus tour that took us through buffalo herds (that paid us little attention) and the Park's handling facilities. Many of the IBC guests got together for dinner that last evening, and comments could be heard everywhere about what a great event it had been.
The next International Bison Conference will be in Canada – site
unknown at this time – but when the date and site are announced start
making plans to attend. You don't want to miss the next one!
