On June 18, 2003 Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge congratulated and acknowledged Paul Hill, for winning The Farmer Cooperative Director of the Year Award.

Patty Judge, told the group of over 150 Iowa Turkey Growers and their families that,“The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) has awarded Paul Hill, a farmer from Ellsworth, Iowa, a NCFC-member and the chairman of West Liberty Foods, the prestigious Farmer Cooperative Director of the Year Award.

NCFC is a nationwide association of cooperative businesses owned and controlled by farmers. NCFC members handle almost every type of agricultural commodity produced in the United States, market these commodities domestically and abroad, and furnish production supplies and credit to their farmer members.

Patty Judge went on to summarize that, “Hill raises over 750,000 tom turkeys annually and cultivates 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans on his family farm in central Iowa. Since incorporating his farm in 1984, he has remained an active and astute agribusiness man, and he was instrumental in the formation of the West Liberty Foods six years ago. Since that time, Hill has served as chairman of the board for the cooperative, and has been a key component in the success of Iowa Turkey Growers.

Patty quoted David Graves, president and CEO of NCFC, "Paul Hill's dedication to his cooperative and his exemplary leadership of the Iowa Turkey Growers board make him a worthy recipient of the Director of the Year award. From working with Paul, I know that he is well respected both by fellow board members and his cooperative's management. I congratulate Paul on this achievement."

Paul Hill thanked the Board of Directors of The West Liberty Foods for their support, which enabled him to win the award.

Paul also stated, “I have to thank the Iowa Turkey Federation. Some will call you competitors but you are not competitors, you are friends, BilMar Foods and Iowa Turkey Products. You guys will never know how much you did for us in Washington D.C. when we were trying to get started six years ago and secure a seven million dollar guaranteed loan. You stepped up and gave your support by saying that you were going to give $15,000 to that start-up co-op to help get it started and off the ground. That support by Iowa “competitors” was noted in Washington, and made a difference so from the bottom of my heart I thank you.”

The West Liberty Foods owns, West Liberty Foods, Sigourney Foods, and Mount Pleasant Foods. The Cooperative is a major supplier of value added Turkey, Beef, Pork and Chicken products to national Food Service and Retail chains, and also co-manufactures for nationally branded manufacturers.