This is Anthony Trey Smith, 3 years old, trying out for the mascot job in 2025. Photo submitted by mommy, Maria Smith

Environmental Science Panel visits Arlington

The Environmental Science Panel, that serves at the behest of the United Egg Producers, are tasked with air emission quality standards and the development of standards for the entire US egg industry. They recently took a tour of the Arlington facility.

Douglas Light Parade

A festive Henrietta smiled her prettiest during the Douglas Light Parade. These photos were taken by Veronica Bossack from atop the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas, Arizona. Who says Christmas needs reindeer when you have a giant chicken?

On February 10th, Arizona House of Representatives Ed Ableser (Dist. 17) and David Lujan (Dist. 15) along with Mr. Ed Hermes, Public Information Officer for the State Dept of Agriculture came out to meet us at our Jackrabbit offices.

After a quick meeting discussing our animal welfare practices, we took a guided tour of our Arlington Ranch. Clint was very happy to answer their questions, and was very pleased they decided to take the time out of their busy schedules on a Saturday to learn about us.

The reasoning behind applying for kosher certification for our new hard-cooked egg product is simple. Carrying a certified kosher symbol like OU opens many markets that our product may never have been exposed to otherwise. Choosing the Orthodox Union to certify our product kosher was equally simple. The Orthodox Union is the oldest and largest organization to certify kosher products. OU is a symbol that is known worldwide and is synonymous with quality and trust.

We knew passing the OU inspection would be intense, but because we have been using kosher ingredients and practicing kosher protocol since the start of our liquid egg plant we knew we could do it. Ultimately, it is Hickman's job to produce kosher food and the Orthodox Union's job to verify it.

Part of the protocol for the new hard-cooked plant was having the rabbinic field inspector light the new boiler's pilot light. We learned of this custom many months prior to the plant being operational and worked hard to adhere to this requirement. Our Special Projects Coordinator built a shelter where the boiler would be housed; then he welded a special box to make sure the pilot light was only accessible to an orthodox rabbi.

After passing the plant inspection and enjoying Rabbi Shapiro and Rabbi Nathanson's company as a few snags were dealt with at the boiler location, the lighting ceremony was about to begin. You would think someone would have remembered to bring a lighter? With that crisis diverted, we all enjoyed a collective chuckle and the pilot light was lit.

Hickman's Premium Select Hard-cooked eggs will be available for wholesale this month, and look for our convenient 2EZ Pac which will be coming soon.

Audrey Hickman says about the Women's Expo visitors at the University of Phoenix Stadium in mid-April: "We ran out of egg patties to sample so at one point two desperate ladies resorted to trying the Egg Toppers on the palm of their hands! Diane lost her cool when some of the attendees insisted on trying to eat the fake deviled eggs Diane had carefully made to look real."

The new products were such a hit that somebody actually made off with the egg patty that had been put out as a display item. Despite the wild page of the Women's Expo, everything went extremely well and Maria Smith reports that the Huevolution Egg Toppers and Scrambled Egg Patties were major successes with the public. Watch for them to arrive soon at your favorite store or retail outlet.

Visitors to the Hickman's Family Farms booth at the 2007 Women's Expo gave two thumbs up to Huevolution Egg Toppers and Scrambled Egg Patties. At some point during the day, even the display got eaten.

Bob Comly, lead truck driver at the Arlington facility, is the winner of the drawing for the car. A drawing is held for all hourly employees each quarter. Each employee receives one entry for each year he or she has worked at Hickman's Family Farms, and one entry for each week he or she has reached his or her incentive bonus. An additional prize, $100 cash, was claimed by Gilberto Bustamante, a loader at the Arlington facility.