Laura Bush is presented with Hickman sponsored Easter egg

Clint and the Easter Bunny join forces for the egg donation at the Hawaii food bank

Hike for the Homeless

On March 1st, over 700 hikers gathered at Estrella Park and hiked the mountain in support of St. Joseph the Worker. And when they were done hiking, they feasted on breakfast burritos donated by the Hickman family.

In addition to providing the burritos, Hickman Family Farms was also a sponsor of the event and it sent a team of well seasoned hikers to represent it on the climb. Our hikers were noticeable by the egg on their shirts and in the case of salesman Juan Maldonado, by the chicken on his head.

St. Joseph the Worker is a charity whose sole purpose is finding jobs for homeless individuals. In the first nine months of this year, they have secured almost 250 full-time, permanent positions for this group of people. Working against what may be viewed as insurmountable odds, they help with interviews, job hunting skills, resumes and classes on how to get and hold a job. Led by Amy Caffarillo, they are a most amazing group of dedicated individuals. And this year they are celebrating their 20th anniversary of helping Arizona’s homeless.

The annual Hike for the Homeless is St. Joseph the Worker’s one main fundraising event. This year, they broke all previous records and netted over $54,000 from the hike. With help from their main sponsor, Standard Pacific Homes and sponsors such as Hickman’s, they were able to far exceed their goals. The Hickman family is very proud to be associated with this group and consider their sponsorship as one more way to give back to a community that has been so good to them. Hickman’s has also shown its generosity by allowing its CFO, Jim Manos, to take time out of his day to work as a member of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph the Worker.

We would like to invite all who didn’t hike with us this year to put March 9, 2009 down on their calendars and join in the fun next year. Doing good has never been so much fun.

Thank you Hickman Eggs!

Trinity Lutheran School's field trip to the Maricopa County Fair. Photos are courtesty of Donna Bloomstadt, whose son Kyle (wearing hat) is at the craft table.

Heading for the White House

Egg artist Marsha Rossell writes, "I am honored to have been selected to design and create the White House 2008 Commemorative Egg for the American Egg Board. The inside depicts the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.  Dogwood blossoms and Swarovski crystals decorate the front.  The back includes Texas bluebonnets surrounding a portrait of First Lady, Laura Bush.   Incidentally, the portrait of the First Lady was derived from the actual photograph of Mrs. Bush and me taken during the 2007 presentation of the egg from the state of Arizona at the White House Visitor Center. I’d like to thank Hickman’s Family Farms for their support and donation of the egg used in this creation."

Hickman’s Family Farms commissioned jewel decorated egg for the 2008 Diamond Ball

We usually speak about our eggs almost like they are jewels – golden yolks, precious source of protein, perfect food, and valuable food resource. However, this egg really is the bling of the barn.

Hickman’s Family Farms commissioned this piece, created by local renowned egg artist Katie Cisco, for the March 15, 2008 Diamond Ball benefiting the West Valley Arts Council. The theme of this year’s event is “Diamonds Are Forever,” made famous by the classic James Bond movie.

This beautiful egg represents many, many hours of work, and is truly a classic in its own right. The egg pendant is actually a little quail’s egg, but we aren’t going to quibble.

The Diamond Ball began in 1994 as the first black tie fundraising event in the West Valley. Produced by the West Valley Arts Council, the event raises funds to support arts programs in the West Valley. The Diamond Ball is considered to be the signature black tie gala event of the region. It is attended by 600 corporate and community leaders who are committed to enhancing cultural life in the West Valley.

Hickman's Family Farms Sponsors Competition

New River egg artist Karen Friend will be headed to the White House to represent Arizona at the annual White House Easter Egg competition during the 2008 Easter festivities in Washington D.C. Included in her travels will be a photo op with First Lady Laura Bush. According to Sharman Hickman Silva, nine Valley artists had their decorated egg creations judged January 2 at Banner Estrella Medical Center for the chance to represent Arizona at the national competition. Hickman’s Family Farms sponsored the event, which has become an annual tradition.

Hickman’s holds the contest each year at Banner Estrella to allow professional and amateur artists the opportunity to decorate an egg that best represents the state of Arizona. Decorators are required to use only Hickman’s size large chicken eggs, with contents removed, and the small end of the egg pointed up. As part of the partnership, Hickman’s also made a generous donation to Banner Estrella Women and Infants Services.

Karen Friend learned how to decorate eggs as part of a class she took at the Cave Creek Museum. Her class instructor, Fran Hunold of Cave Creek, a participant and past winner of the competition jokingly remarked about Friend’s win, “I am so proud of her but I am so upset.”

Grand Valley Catholic Outreach's Soup Kitchen
Grand Junction, Colorado

"Breakfast for Lunch" was provided by Colorado Egg. Farm owners, Greg Nelson and Glenn Hickman, and a volunteer staff made of family members and staff, prepared omelets with all the fixings for 200 people in a matter of a few minutes.

“Breakfast for Dinner”at the St. Vincent De Paul Society

On Thursday, December the 6th, Hickman's Family Farms sponsored a "Breakfast for Dinner" night at the family dining room of the St. Vincent De Paul Society in downtown Phoenix. The regular customers of St. Vincent's were treated to freshly made omelets, terrific potatoes, sausage, bacon, bread and milk. The omelets were prepared by some seasoned omelet makers from the Hickman family (literal and corporate), representatives of Shamrock Foods, USDA employees and the master omelet maker himself, Howard Helmer. Other family members and friends worked the serving line and delivered the healthy, nutritious dinner to the families. All pitched in at the end of the dinner and helped restore the dining hall to its pre-dinner state.

It was great to see the Arizona coalition of Hickman's, Shamrock, Bar S and Holsum join in this effort to feed those who are struggling in this tough economic time. Because the people of Arizona have trusted us to feed their families for close to a century, all of the contributing companies were proud to pay that trust back by feeding some of the Arizona needy.

All who contributed time and effort to work this dinner walked away with a greater appreciation of the plight of the needy. The volunteers went about their duties with smiles and graciousness. The customers were so appreciative that they gave the crew a couple of ovations of thanks. The St. Vincent staff in attendance remarked on the quantity and quality of food donated. They relayed that this was an unusual treat for their clients.

Stay tuned for round two. As this was such a success and has generated the interest of some of our employees who missed out on this opportunity, the Hickman crew will do this again. In fact, a similar dinner was done by our associate in Colorado this last Tuesday and a dinner in Tucson is in the works. And we will return to the St. Vincent dining hall in Phoenix at a later date.

Thanks to all who helped out, a number too large to mention individually. And thanks to our Arizona coalition partners, Shamrock Foods, Bar S and Holsum. And a special thanks to Christina Calio of St. Mary's Food Bank for her invaluable help in this dinner's organization.

Douglas Run/Walk for the Cure

These photos were taken at the Douglas Run/Walk For the Cure on Thanksgiving Day, 2007. Hickman's Family Farms sponsored a burrito fest with the help of Shamrock and Food City.

10th Annual Hike for the Homeless

Saturday, March 1, 2008
St. Joseph the Worker's

Click here for flyer

2007 Ag Literacy Days

Hickman's Eggspounds Literally!
Agricultural Literacy gives family farmers an opportunity to inform students throughout the state about where food originates.

Special thanks go to Trinity Lutheran, Litchfield Elementary, and Phoenix Christian West Valley Campus. Mrs. Anita Willand and Mrs. Kristen Wohler, arranged for added classes to be read to. Thank you to Mrs. Sherri Marin for helping with mascot duties! "Your mascot gets the kids so excited to learn about egg production, nutrition, and food safety. My children always look for the chicken on the carton." Kristen Wohler, mother of three.

Hickman Chicken reading at Trinity Lutheran Elementary