Deb Osza, Face of Indiana Milk Promotions, to Retire
Published: Friday, November 16, 2018
Seen any "Got Milk?" ads recently? Dairy promotions are out there, but today's ads take on a more subtle form.
The national dairy checkoff program, which is known as Dairy Management Inc., has changed its business plan in recent years. Instead of spending dollars on advertising and retail promotions, the dairy promotion organization works with retail partners like McDonald's, Taco Bell, Dominoes and Pizza Hut. Now, those food chains are spending their own money, to the tune of $7.5 billion over the past five years, to promote dairy friendly menu items through own ads.
For dairy farmers, the partnership delivers more bang for the buck, according to Deb Osza, retiring CEO of the American Dairy Assn. Indiana. She says the amount of money spent on advertising for these food products far exceeds the total budget for U.S. dairy promotions.
Behind the scenes, the American Dairy Assn. Indiana and staff from other state dairy checkoff groups work with the food chains to make sure dairy products are prominently featured in new food products.
"We provide key insights and dairy science expertise to these partners to help them develop more dairy friendly menu items more quickly," Osza said.
That's just one example of how dairy promotion efforts have changed in recent years. During Osza's more than four decades of work in dairy promotions, technology and consolidation have been game changers.
"When I began working for dairy farmers, there was no Internet, email or cell phones," Osza said. "Instead, we used mimeograph machines, land lines and the U.S. mail. Today, digital media is critical."
When she started her tenure in 1977, there were four dairy promotion offices in Indiana and now there is just one.
Consolidation has also impacted the dairy farm families who are served by the checkoff organization. In 1977, there were approximately 8,000 dairy farms in Indiana; today there are under 1,000.
An Osceola native, Osza began her career as an administrative assistant at the regional office in South Bend. She was promoted to office manager and executive assistant within about six months, and worked in South Bend for a total of 11 years.
Osza was then hired by the new organization, Milk Promotion Services of Indiana, to lead communication efforts and manage the now-famous Dairy Bar at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Over the years, she has done nearly every job in the dairy promotion field, including bookkeeper, consumer programs manager, food publicity manager and CEO. She has also served on many committees and teams with the national organization. Her success, she says, is attributable to several good mentors over the years who believed in her and wanted her to succeed.
One of those was Marty Nash, secretary/treasurer of the dairy council board.
"Marty was supportive, and kind and instrumental in the development of my career," Osza said. "He devoted much time to the St. Joseph County Dairy Assn., running the Dairy Bar during the county fair. He would follow that by heading to the Indiana State Fair to help with the ADA (American Dairy Assn.) of Indiana's Dairy Bar there. In 1987, I began managing the Dairy Bar at the State Fair and worked with Marty at the Dairy Bar during each State Fair until he retired in 1998."
Osza said she remembers Marty passing along his knowledge of the ice cream business and offering many tips about running the dairy bar.
"He always said, when it comes to cleaning the shake machines, 'nothing beats a good rinse.'"
Osza became CEO of the Indiana dairy organization in 2005, succeeding Myrna Metzger. She and several officers on the board, including Paul Mills, Don Gurtner, Steve Phares and Alan Wright, provided "great" advice.
Her 41-year career includes many highlights, but Osza said she has enjoyed getting to know so many dairy farmers, whom she describes as "salt-of-the-earth" people.
"Promoting milk is a highlight," she said. "I love talking about nature's most nearly perfect food."
Another highlight is ensuring that a bottle of ice cold milk is provided to the winning driver of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The dairy association's involvement in that winning tradition is the inspiration for the group's slogan, "Winners Drink Milk." Each year, the board of directors selects two Indiana dairy farmers to carry the milk to victory circle and present it to the winner.
Other career highlights include managing the Dairy Bar for 20 years; building a new Dairy Bar in 2003, on time and on budget; and ADAI's partnership with the Indiana State School Music Assn.
Dairy promotion efforts also reach into the realm of professional football, where the American Dairy Assn. Indiana maintains a partnership with the Indianapolis Colts to improve nutrition and fitness in Indiana schools.
"Our student-led nutrition and fitness initiative, Fuel Up to Play 60, is designed to allow students to choose and participate in 'plays' that help them get active, try new foods and improve overall wellness in their schools," Osza said. "The initiative offers tips and ideas for incorporating breakfast in the classroom; research shows a good breakfast helps kids learn."
She added that dairy farmers have a 100-plus-year legacy in providing nutrition education and research to benefit America's youth.
Osza currently lives in Elkhart and commutes to Indianapolis for work. She will be busy traveling in the weeks leading up to her final day as CEO. But even after stepping down from her position, she plans to continue being an advocate for dairy products and the hard-working farmers who produce milk.
"Dairy farmers should know that their vision, commitment and strategic sense in directing their promotion program has never wavered; nor has my passion for telling their story," Osza said. "I cannot be prouder of the progress dairy promotion has made in the past four decades. I am happy, thankful and blessed that I dedicated my career to dairy farmers; I believe in them. I believe in their product and how they produce it, and I believe in the value of the powerful promotion program they have built."
The Indiana Dairy Producers organization recognized Osza at a luncheon last Wednesday at Fair Oaks Farms, and the ADAI board and staff will hold a special reception in her honor from 3-5 p.m. this Friday in Fishers, located outside of Indianapolis.
Jenni Browning, current communication director for ADAI, will be taking over as the new CEO after Osza retires on Dec. 31.
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