We did it!  We’re back in the office following our awesome, amazing, kick-butt conference, Make (at least!) Half Your Grains Whole, which was held in Alexandria, VA.  It was exhausting, but the good kind of exhausting where you feel yourself re-invigorated by the energy and enthusiasm of your fellow attendees at just about every turn.  Plus the coffee breaks were frequent, which was a very good thing in my eyes.  

Now that I’m back in the office, I’m digging through the mounds of non-Spam Email that accumulated over the last six days. Yes that’s right, some of our Members work through the weekends, so while I was packing and flying down south, they were sending me questions and requests, most of which needed attention right away.  I’m still up to my chin in Emails and To Do list items, but I wanted to share a few wonderful quotes I jotted down during the course of our conference.  I collect interesting phrases and am often amused and intrigued by the sound byte worthy things people say, and I thought I’d post the best of these quotes here.  Some of them are profound, some of them may make you ponder at length, and some just made me giggle so they had to be included.  I also tried to reference the speaker and topic, if appropriate, so at least you know who said what.

I’m sure Cindy will recap much of the conference for you in blog or press release, but I will only be in the office for two more days before I’m off to yet another speaking engagement.  As the saying goes, there’s no rest for the wicked!  And speaking of saying, here are the quotes:

“Why does health have to be expensive?”
   — Joe Derochowski, Executive Director, The NPD Group, Inc.

“We’re not hiding them any more!”
   — (in reference to whole grains in school meals) Becky Domokos-Bays, PhD, RD, SNS, Director, Food and Nutrition Services, Alexandria City Public Schools

“Incorporate whole grains into your favorite recipes.”
   — Lorna Sass, PhD, Author, Whole Grains for Busy People

“I used to think, ‘Quinoa?  Keen-what?!’ ”
   — Kyle Potvin, Principal, Splash Communications, LLC

“I don’t eat what’s healthy, I eat what tastes good.”
   — (in reference to why he eats whole grains and prepares them in his restaurant) Daniel Giusti, Executive Chef, 1789 Restaurant / Clyde’s Restaurant Group

“Commercial ovens are the last black art of the baking industry.”
   — Jon M. Faubion, PhD, Singleton Professor of Cereal and Baking Science, Department of Grain Science, Kansas State University

“I like to add my pepper early because I like to let it bloom.”
   — (during his cooking demo, preparing Kamut bulgur risotto) Paul J. Lynch, Executive Chef, FireLake Grill House and Cocktail Bar, Radisson Plaza Hotel

“If we don’t totally understand what [a label] means, it won’t matter to us when compared to price.”
   — Cary Silvers, Director of Consumer Insights, Rodale

“Social media is word of mouth marketing on steroids.”
   — Rob Birgfeld, Director of Audience Development, SmartBrief

“One kid thought loaves of bread were dug up from the ground, like potatoes.”
   — Tom Payne, Director of Marketing, King Arthur Flour Company

“I tell them, ‘I’m not a food cop, but performance depends on what you eat.’ ”
   — (in reference to using whole grains in her work with Navy SEALs) Lori A. Tubbs MS, RD, CSSD, Nutrition Program Manager and Human Performance Program, Naval Special Warfare

“We made ‘Choose Whole Grains First’ the slogan.”
   — (in reference to the Danish Whole Grains Campaign) Morten Strunge Meyer, Cand.Brom, Project Manager, Danish Cancer Society; Vice Chair, Danish Whole Grains Campaign

“There’s a lot of plate waste when children don’t understand why they’re eating what they’re eating.”
   — Danielle Hollar, PhD, MS, MHA, Research Advisor, Institute for Obesity Research and Evaluation, AgriLIFE Research, Texas A&M University System

“If I can buy the ingredients and make [a product] myself for less, why am I buying the products in bulk for more?”
 — Serena Suthers, MS, SFS, RD, Director, School Food and Nutrition Services, Prince William County Schools

“The students are the customers, but so are the parents.”
   — (in reference to school meal materials sent home with students) Jill Patterson, RD, Resident Dietitian, Chartwells School Dining Services, K-12

“It’s not over, it’s beginning.”
   — (in reference to making at least half the country’s grains whole) Michael Bittel, WGC Chairman of the Board; Senior Vice President and General Manager, King Arthur Flour

And one final quote to leave you with… Thanks to our sponsors, the WGC was able to donate 508 pounds of whole grain products from our conference to the Capital Area Food Bank!  Talk about ending on a high note!  (Kara)