Wayne Farms employees in Danville provided over 200 school bags to area kindergarten students in the rural area.  The bags were stuffed full of crayons, pencils, erasers, and other other items.  Area kindergarten teachers also received a bag full of goodies from Wayne Farms employees which included pencils, pens, erasers, and books for the classroom.  The project was initiated by David Elam, Complex Manager in Danville, who challenged the employees to adopt this project as their own.  The funding for the project was employee-driven, using no corporate funds.  They successfully achieved the challenge and raised enough money for the school bags' contents.  This was accomplished by various creative fund raising activities throughout the year.  Area businesses in Danville also assisted in the project.  "The employees of Wayne Farms were very generous in their time and commitment to the program, " stated David Elam.  "Their personal efforts, which made a significant impact on the area schools, is a true reflection of their caring nature.  We are very proud to provide this service to the schools."

Wayne Farms LLC is the fifth-largest vertically integrated poultry producer in the U.S. with annual sales exceeding $1.4 billion. Wayne Farms owns and operates 11 fresh and further-processed facilities throughout the Southeast and produces more than 1.8 billion pounds of poultry products each year.  Utilizing the many resources of the parent organization, Continental Grain Company, Wayne Farms LLC’s vertical integration allows control of the process from feed to final (raw or cooked) product, assuring strict product quality and food safety throughout the process. Wayne Farms LLC produces products under the brand names of WAYNE FARMS®, DUTCH QUALITY HOUSE®, and PLATINUM HARVEST® and has a well-known history of providing exceptional poultry  to some of the largest industrial, institutional, and foodservice companies across America. Wayne Farms LLC employs approximately 8900 people in eight integrated complexes, comprising eight hatcheries (7.6 million chicks per week capacity); seven feed mills (43,700 tons per week); eight slaughter processing plants (6.2 million head per week capacity); and three further processing plants. The Wayne Farms fresh plants are located in Albertville, Alabama; Danville, Arkansas; Decatur, Alabama; Dobson, North Carolina; Enterprise, Alabama; Laurel, Mississippi; Union Springs, Alabama; and Pendergrass, Georgia. The further processing plants are located in Decatur, Alabama (East & West locations); and Oakwood, Georgia.
 

Pictured behind the tabletop of school backpacks provided by Wayne Farms employees are:  Front Row left to right:  Mrs. Holstein and Mrs. Barnes, Kindergarten teachers at Ola.  Second Row left to right:  David Elam, Complex Manager, Nancy Frick,  Administrative Assistant.  Back Row left to right: Pam Millard, Accounting Clerk, Chuck Morgan, PSM coordinator, Kristin Minnie, Purchasing, Leonard Polacek, Operations Manager.