Records of the Western Dairy Council

The Western Dairy Council, a non-profit affiliate of the National Dairy Council, is funded by donations from members of the dairy industry in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to promote the consumption of milk and milk products. As part of its educational mission, the Western Dairy Council provides nutrition education resources to consumers, educators, health professionals and the media. Sharing the same headquarters and board of directors, the Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association provides educational services for dairy producers. These services include assistance with water issues, training in public relations and promotion of projects to benefit farmers.

On December 18, 1935, a group of representatives from Denver-area dairies organized the Denver Dairy Council, Inc., with the goal of creating an educational and advertising campaign to increase the consumption of dairy products. The name of this organization was changed to Dairy Council of Colorado in 1965. Following a merger with the Wyoming Dairy Council in 1972, the name was changed again to Dairy Council, Inc. A final name change to Western Dairy Council was approved in December 1987.

The Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association originated from the American Dairy Association (ADA) of Colorado, which was organized in 1944 as an affiliate of the national American Dairy Association. This relationship became strained in 1967 after the ADA of Colorado signed an agreement with the Denver Milk Producers, a cooperative controlling eighty percent of the milk production in the state. The agreement called for a smaller percentage of membership dues to be sent to the national organization in order to use most of the revenue locally. Also in 1967, the ADA of Colorado and Denver Milk Producers created the "Goddess of the Rockies" milk promotion campaign. That year, after officially naming their goddess "Meda," the Denver Milk Producers merged with the Intermountain Dairymen's Association to form the Mountain Empire Dairymen's Association (MEDA).

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, MEDA's advertising and promotion committee began funding Dairy Council, Inc. projects. Recognizing a considerable overlap in promotional and educational programs conducted by the National Dairy Council and American Dairy Association, proposals were considered by both organizations for a consolidation or merger of their efforts. In 1972, a separate corporation, named "Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc." (GRMI) was formed from the MEDA advertising and promotion committee. Members of the executive committee of Dairy Council, Inc. began attending GRMI board meetings in 1973 to foster better coordination of activities of the two groups. By 1974, meetings of the boards of directors of both organizations were being held on the same date at the MEDA office, with the GRMI board meeting in the morning and the Dairy Council, Inc. board meeting in the afternoon. Most board members attended both meetings. On March 15, 1974, GRMI president William ("Bill") Wailes was elected president of Dairy Council, Inc. as well. At that time, Harvey Wilhelm served as general manager of both organizations.

In 1981, Tom Jenkinson became general manager of Dairy Council, Inc./Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc., and continued to serve in that position for the following 25 years. The name of Goddess of the Rockies Milk, Inc. was officially changed to Western Dairyfarmers' Promotion Association in 1982.