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Agenda

The Almond Conference 2021 Agenda

View the official 2021 Conference Program to plan your experience today!
Tuesday, Dec. 7 | 2:00-3:30 p.m.
State of the Industry

Brian Wahlbrink, chairman, and Richard Waycott, president and CEO, will serve as anchors of AlmondCenter, a fast moving and informative ninety minutes of almond action news. Brian and Richard and their network of “special correspondents” will cover the challenges and triumphs of this past year while hearing from industry members and Almond Board staff about what’s on deck for the next season. You’ll be introduced to the new ABC Board Members and several ABC staff members who work very hard on behalf of the industry but are often behind the scenes. The show will wrap up with presentations of the 2021 Almond Achievement Award and the new Almond Award for Technical Achievement. Be certain to attend this most important presentation, followed by the conference opening reception in the exhibit hall. 
Wednesday, Dec. 8 | 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m
Wednesday Lunch Sponsored by Yosemite Farm Credit

Speaker: Barb Stuckey, Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer, MATTSON

 

Barb has been at Mattson since 1997 and is currently Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer at North America’s most successful independent developer of foods and beverages for the retail food and chain restaurant industries. Barb is known as a taste, food trend, innovation, consumer insights, and product development expert.
Thursday, Dec. 9 | 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Thursday Lunch Sponsored by Farm Credit

Speaker: Dan On, Global CEO, Dan-D Group


As the Vietnam War was coming to an end in 1975, 15-year-old Dan On quit school to sell sandals on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. His father, an ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam, worked three jobs to feed a family of seven who lived in one bedroom of a small two-story house — 45 people jammed into one house with two toilets. At age 18, On left Vietnam on a 16-foot wooden boat with a ticket bought by his parents. Four days later, the boat and its passengers were attacked by Thai pirates before being rescued by a passing German freighter. On was deposited in a Malaysian refugee camp before being brought to Canada by the Hope Lutheran Church. In 1989, On started Dan D Foods and is now the Global CEO of Dan-D Group – an importer, manufacturer, and distributor of cashews and other tree nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, snack foods and spices from around the world with approximately 1000 employees in Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, with headquarters in Richmond, British Columbia.
Thursday, Dec. 9 | Cocktail hour 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Dinner 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Gala Dinner

Entertainer: Tyler Rich

 

You are cordially invited to a private concert at the Nuthouse Honky Tonk Bar headlined by Tyler Rich, a home-grown American country music singer from Yuba City, California. Rich found his love of music gathered around a Christmas tree alongside family singing holiday classics and Creedence Clearwater Revival. After graduating from Cal State Sacramento with a degree in Economics, Tyler moved to LA to pursue a different game of numbers – music – exploring various genres with songwriting and bands before taking the leap as a solo artist. His fanbase grew organically from Sacramento to Nashville, where in 2017 he signed a record deal with The Valory Music Co. and publishing agreement with Big Machine Music. While introducing his amplified sound and infectious energy coast to coast, the 2018 CMT “Listen Up” and 2019 Pandora Artist has toured with Brett Young, Justin Moore, LANCO and Dustin Lynch, plus shared bills alongside Sam Hunt, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay and more. Enlisting  Tyler as one of their “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know,” Rolling Stone touts him as “the newest member of country music’s radio-minded incoming class, with a homecoming king’s swagger and a valedictorian’s songwriting smarts." SiriusXM chart-toppers “The Difference” (GOLD-certified single) and “Leave Her Wild” set the tone for his debut album TWO THOUSAND MILES, a reference to the distance between Los Angeles and Nashville as both he and his wife, actress Sabina Gadecki, chased their dreams and embraced a bi-coastal relationship before officially settling in Tennessee. 


Join us in welcoming Rich “home” to Sacramento before he heads out on a nationwide tour in 2022!

How to View Past Conference Sessions and Presentations

Final video recordings are posted to the Almond Board of California's YouTube playlist, "The Almond Conference 2020", and available at Almonds.com/Conference.

Final presentation slides are also available from each session, posted to Almonds.com/Conference