The Dairy Blog

Tasty Treats from Mayfield and Williams-Sonoma

Mayfield Moms — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:00:00 -0500

Friday at Phipps Plaza was visit Santa day. We had many young families who were making a day of shopping and visiting Santa with mom. All the children were so cute as they were all decked out in their new Christmas attire. Olivia and I had a great time just OOOOH!!! and AHHHHH!!! over all the adorable outfits.

My favorite group was three little sisters who were three, five and seven years old. Any one of them could pass for Goldy Locks. They had on matching outfits and were on their way to see Santa. Their brave mom let them sample the Pumpkin Pie and a glass of Nurture 2% milk. The littlest (3-year-old) did spill some milk, but not to worry -- we had her spic and span before she left the store.

On Saturday at both Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza, Olivia and I made Butternut Squash Soup. It was absolutely delicious, and the secret is the more Mayfield Heavy Whipping Cream you add the better it tastes.

At Lenox Mall, we had the whole Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, foccacia Bread stuffing, gravy, cranberry and apple relish). Only this time we added sweet potato souffle. It was sooooo good. Let me give you the recipe. By the way this is Chef Nick's recipe:

6 sweet potatoes, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup 2% Mayfield Milk, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs, beaten, 1/2 tsp. salt. Topping: 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix together and set aside. 1 cup chopped pecans (optional). We used mini marshmallows as we did not have pecans.

Pre-heat oven to 350. Boil sweet potatoes until soft. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. In a mixing bowl, beat potatoes until smooth. Add sugar, milk, butter, vanilla, eggs and salt. Mix well. Pour mixture into casserole dish. Cover with topping and pecans. Cover casserole and bake for 40 minutes uninterrupted.

I wish you all could come by and visit us as we would love to give you coupons for our Milk and Ice Cream, and we have really nice recipe cards to give you, too. If you cannot make it in to see us, then please visit our web site (Mayfielddairy.com) where you can get many of these great tasting recipes. The Pumpkin Pecan Pie recipe is Mayfield’s Recipe of the Month.

Our next recipes will be Pepperminty for the Christmas Holiday Season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pamela Burdell

Mayfield and Williams-Sonoma: Part Two

Mayfield Moms — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:00:00 -0500

On Monday, Nov. 11, our samplings at Williams-Sonoma went well. The Pumpkin Pecan Pies were wonderful. We also served the foccacia bread stuffing and got to make the apple pie as we were just dying to taste it. It was not my favorite, but Olivia and I were glad we got to try it.

We served about 200 people (slow day for Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta). It was so nice to get a breather and get a chance to talk to staff and customers. I have decided that Buckhead must be the place for corporate meetings as we had many customers from all around the world who were in town for meetings.

Yesterday, the husbands changed from asking if we (Mayfield Moms) will come cook their Thanksgiving dinners to can they come to our house for Thanksgiving.

We gave out coupons for Nurture and other Mayfield Milk as well as ice cream, and we had people ask about the Mayfield Dairy Farms Visitor Centers.

When we told people there were only three ingredients in the Pie, and one being Mayfield Heavy Whipping Cream, they said THAT is what makes it soooo good!!!!

People were also sampling Mayfield Milk. We need to take Vanilla Ice Cream as Williams-Sonoma serves so many goodies that a scoop of ice cream would be the crowning glory.

On to Friday (Pumpkin Pecan Pies at Phipps Plaza) and Saturday at both Lenox and Phipps Malls (Butternut Squash Soup), along with whatever else they have going.

Pamela

Moms Know Best

Mayfield Moms — Fri, 25 May 2007 14:45:00 -0400

At the Feria Latina festival at Stone Mountain a few weeks ago, Mayfield Moms Carmen Rosenfeld and Priscila Tavalez talked to so many young families about Nurture. They were very interested in the immune boosting benefits of Nurture. It was good to see the children drinking milk. We just love having the opportunity to promote a good diet for the young ones. That is one of the reasons we enjoy being Mayfield Moms as we know milk plays an important part in promoting good health. And now with the probiotic milk Nurture, they are getting even more than calcium and Vitamin D which promote strong bones and teeth. They will also be getting a boost to their immune system. It was also exciting to have Ryan Leveille, (Olympic Speed skater), on hand to sign autographs. He has his own testimony about drinking Mayfield Milk as it aided in healing his bones, or that is what his Mom will tell you. It really is amazing as you would never have thought that your mother telling you "drink your milk" would have such far reaching effects, but remember your Mom knows best and so do Mayfield MOMS.

Mayfield Mom Pamela Burdell

Harmony Baptist Church visits Mayfield

Visitor Center — Wed, 09 May 2007 09:59:00 -0400

On March 22, 2007, members of Harmony Baptist Church in Monroe, GA, came to the Braselton Visitor Center to christen their new church van! Church members used a giant replica of a Mayfield Ice Cream cone for the christening ceremony. Thanks to everyone from Harmony Baptist for sharing this fun and delicious celebration with us.

Nurture Milk by Mayfield

Rob Mayfield — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:02:00 -0400

Early in my career I was privileged to represent Mayfield Dairy Farms at meetings of the American Cultured Dairy Products Institute. These meetings were held bi-annually, usually with a plant tour of some new dairy plant. The purpose of ACDPI was to improve the quality, consistency and flavor of cultured products (mainly cottage cheese, buttermilk and sour cream) nationwide. ACDPI sponsored product judging, and I took great pride knowing Mayfield products were some of the best in the nation.

It was at an ACDPI meeting that I first became aware of the potential for cultured products to improve one’s health. ACDPI meetings attracted leaders in the dairy industry, their suppliers and also university professors who taught dairy science. There was considerable consensus that cultured products enhanced good health, and that research into the matter was needed. As an industry, we did not want to make health claims we could not back up with research.

By the late 1970’s, yogurt manufacturers joined ACDPI. We knew yogurt was a very healthy dairy product; however, for most Americans, it was too sour unless sweetened with sugar. Also, about this time a supplier of cultures introduced a clever idea, which was to add the probiotic culture Lactobacillus Acidolphilus to milk after pasteurization – viola! Hence, Sweet Acidolphilus milk was born! Kroger sold Sweet Acidolphilus in Knoxville. When my young children had colic, I would drive to Knoxville to purchase Sweet Acidolphilus so we could add it to their formula. It always worked.

In 1987, Mayfield became the first dairy in the United States to offer Nu-Trish a/B_®, which was 1% lowfat milk with both Acidolphilus and Bifidum cultures. This product, with the two probiotic cultures, was considered a great improvement over Sweet Acidolphilus. We knew then that the cultures aided digestion, and we suspected better overall health. We were years ahead of our time, as research now proves the benefits to one’s immune system. Today, Mayfield is changing the name of Nu-Trish to NURTURE MILK. We will have two products (1% and 2%), and we have boosted the amount of the cultures. In one product most of us consume every day, we will get the nutrition of milk with the immune system enhancement of probiotic cultures. For years, Nu-Trish has been the milk we drink at my house, and now you can be sure Nurture will be our milk from now on. The web site is up so check it out (http://www.nurturemilk.com/).

I am convinced both children and adults who drink Nurture milk will be healthier.

The Most Important Product in my Career

Scottie Mayfield — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:36:00 -0400

My blogs never need a title but, in this case, I think it makes some sense to have one. We are announcing the introduction of Nurture 1% lowfat milk and Nurture 2% reduced fat milk. I want to give you some background (more than you may want) and explain why this is actually a re-launch and why. To do that, I need to begin with some history and then come to the present time.

In the early 1980’s we had a product called Sweet Acidophilus. It was a lowfat product that had a bad name and was not successful. The lack of success was partially because we(Mayfield) did not try hard enough to make it a success. Then in 1987, we had the opportunity to introduce Nu-Trish^® a/B (a product that not only contained Lactobacillus Acidophilus but also Bifidobacterium organism).

Two significant things: First, the milk just tasted like milk. Second, these “cultures” had a reputation for helping the digestive tract digest foods better. This reputation came from years of use in Europe. Since the product was so helpful with digestion, it was logical that it would provide better nutrition because foods eaten would be digested better and more vitamins and nutrients would be absorbed.

We introduced the product by taking one of the scientists from Chr. Hansen Laboratories, who developed the specific cultures we used, onto noontime TV shows. In the next few weeks, we received calls and letters from consumers about how this product had changed their lives. In every case, they had a digestive problem or condition and they gave credit to Nu-Trish^® a/B for the positive changes they had experienced.

Time went along. Most of us that were involved in this introduction started drinking Nu-Trish^® a/B at home. My family has consumed it since 1987. When I see some whole milk in the refrigerator, I know my wife has a special recipe that calls for whole milk. In 1991, we entered Atlanta with milk and we stopped advertising NuTrish^® a/B to focus on explaining the Aro-Vac and why our milk tastes dairy fresh all year regardless of what the cows eat. We also spent time explaining that the yellow jug blocked out light and preserved the fresh dairy taste.

The name was later changed to NuTrish 1% lowfat, which is our current product.

About a year and a half ago, I was talking to some consumers and asked why they are willing to pay more for Mayfield milk. I had three in the group tell me that since they had learned about NuTrish that was all their family drank and they felt it had made a very positive difference in the health of their family.

It just so happened that when we contacted Chr. Hansen Labs. about NuTrish, they started telling us about great research that had been done in the last few years. The research involved solving various situations - like when someone has to take antibiotics. Drinking NuTrish helps replenish the good flora in the intestines. The research that really “blew our minds” allowed us to make a claim that makes this product very significant.

We can and are going to state that this product will boost your immune system. With this news, we felt that we should re-name and re-launch this product. The new name is “Nurture.” We think this is great because we are going beyond nutrition with this product. We are boosting immune systems. The re-launch will begin with advertising on April 30 and the product should be in the stores shortly thereafter.

We have a web site where you can dig into some of the research. It is http://www.nurturemilk.com/.

Everyone reacts differently. I would like to ask two favors. For those of you who already drink NuTrish, I would love to hear about any stories where you feel it has made a significant difference in your health. Second, now that NuTrish is changing to Nurture and we are going to tell more people about it, I would love to hear stories from anyone who feels it has made a difference in their health.

My understanding is that you need to average at least two 8-ounce glasses a day. By the way, this is a very similar product to the new Activia by Dannon. If you cannot drink Nurture by Mayfield, I suggest you try Activia by Dannon. It will take a week or two to establish a good flora in your intestines.

I love milk and drink two or three glasses every day. If I drink milk but also BOOST MY IMMUNE SYSTEM by drinking Nurture milk, I feel that I am being extra good to my body.

We will change our present 1% NuTrish to 1% Nurture and we will add 2% Nurture. We are adding 2% Nurture because 2% is our best selling milk. By providing the 2% taste profile and the benefits of the Nurture culture, we think we are providing consumers a fabulous product.

We hope you will give this product a try. It may cost more than what you are buying today, but I think you will find it is well worth the difference. Let me know what you think.

Our regulars

Visitor Center — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:45:00 -0400

Hello everyone – Sandy from the Braselton Visitor Center here.

One of the most exciting parts of my job is meeting all the different people who stop by the Visitor Center. Each year, we meet hundreds of wonderful visitors from all over the world, but there are a few visitors who return year after year who really make this job special.

Monica Corso has been visiting the Braselton Visitor Center for the past three years every morning (and most afternoons) for a Butter Pecan Ice Cream! She would start her day with us, usually around 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning, get her morning fuel and go about her day. Unfortunately, she just moved to Florida earlier this month - we will miss her!

And once a year, we look forward to a visit from Jane and Ernie Wega from Orlando, FL. The Wega’s stop by every year on vacation, and some years they even come twice – but no matter where they travel, Mayfield is a must!

Question of the day...

Mayfield Moms — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:10:00 -0400

So, is it Peanut Butter Butter Riffic?

Is it Peanut Butter Terrific?

Is it Peanut Butter Lific?

Is it Peanut Butter Pecan?

What is it???

Peanut Butter--------(drum roll please……………) Riffic!

Ta da!

This is the funnest flavor, because it is a tongue twister, and everyone does a double take on the name! Fun stuff!!!

b (Brittney, Mayfield Mom, Birmingham)

My Friday the 13th story...

Mayfield Moms — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:32:00 -0400

Hello everyone! I wanted to tell everyone about my day being it is Friday the 13th. Who ever came up with Friday the 13th being one of those days that things can go wrong knew what they where talking about...

My day was going very well I had an On the Air Interview with Mr. Tony Perry with 105.7 we where planning to do a Taste Test on the Air and tell about the 4 New Flavors of Ice Cream. I went to the plant to pick up my products and OH NO!!! being the wonderful products that they are they are hard to keep in the plant, there were no new flavors to be found. Especially on a Friday...I thought, what am I going to do? Time is running out and I need to be at the station soon. I thought, I will call Tony and tell him I would be late. So, I tried to find the number and it was not to be found. I called information and for some reason they could not find it either! Well, now what am I going to do, I thought. Then, I thought that I would just drive over and tell Tony the situation since the station is not far at all and let him know I would be back with the Ice Cream. Just as I started out the door, one of the drivers called to say he was close to the plant and that he could me some of the product on his truck.

Now, finally, with Ice Cream in hand I was off to the station! We had a wonderful time sampling the 4 New Flavors and telling people just how great they are. I would like to Thank Tony Perry of 105.7 for having me come in and share Mayfield Ice Cream with him and his crew. I had a wonderful time, it was so much fun!

The last time I went in to interview with Tony we had told the public about the New Flavors and where I would be doing my next event along with my date and time of the event... and OH MY GOODNESS!!! there were sooo many people who came in and told me they had heard me talking with Tony on 105.7 about the new flavors they wanted to try it too. I would love to thank all those people who stood in line patiently waiting to try the new flavors. They all left with SMILES on their faces...

I love my job as a Mayfield Mom!! It is sooo much fun! I hope to see you soon!

Marsha

Mayfield Mom Squad

Thomas B. Mayfield Endowed Scholarship

Rob Mayfield — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 08:32:00 -0400

I’ve told you about my grandfather, T.B. Mayfield, in my last two blogs. But, now I want to tell you a little about my father and a recent gift he/we made to the University of Tennessee.

My dad, Tom Mayfield, was born on our family farm in McMinn County in 1919. He graduated from McMinn County High School and he went on to UT to study dairy science, just like my grandfather. When my grandfather passed away, my Dad came back home to help run the dairy. But he soon had to leave to go to war. During WWII, Dad was a Navy aviator and flight instructor. When he returned home from the war, he went right back to work with his brother (Scottie’s dad) C. Scott Mayfield, Sr. It was the two of them, along with their sisters and mother, who mortgaged the family farm in order to build the first modern milk plant and ice cream plant in the southeast and from there, they came up with one good idea after the other!

I don’t know if many people realize it or not, but Mayfield has been a pioneer in the dairy industry. Many things that are common today and used by dairies across the world, actually began at Mayfield by my Dad and uncle. Mayfield was the first to use the Aro-Vac, which today is only used by a handful of daries, we were the first to make and fill our own milk jugs in a continuous operation, we were also the first to add probiotics to our milk twenty years ago and we were even the first to start using packaging like the “Chugs” for milk and “Scrounds” for ice cream (those are the ice cream cartons with the lid). And, speaking of our ice cream, Time magazine actually named it the “World’s Best” back in 1981!

In hopes of keeping the spirit of innovation alive for years to come, we have funded money to the Institute of Agriculture to establish the Thomas B. Mayfield Endowed Scholarship. My brothers David and Bill, along with my sister Missy, my children and other nieces and nephews decided to endow a scholarship in Dad’s name last fall. Dad was so pleased he matched our gift, making the endowment $ 200,000. The scholarship will support students pursuing food science degrees at the University of Tennessee. My Dad always viewed his education at UT and the help he received from the university over the years as instrumental to his success. We are proud to be able to give back to his alma mater.

I’ll have more on my father in a future blog.

Which Feature Flavor Are You?

Mayfield Moms — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:13:00 -0400

Hey there! Mayfield Mom Jennifer Malone here. You may have seen me on TV today talking about Mayfield's Four New Feature Flavors. Here's the quiz for you to take to find out which flavor matches your personality. Check back here tomorrow and I'll post the answers for you! Also, for more information about the flavors, go to www.fournewflavors.com.

What Feature Flavor are you?

Answer the questions listed below to find out which Feature Flavor matches your personality

1. Your ideal vacation includes:

a) A deep sea fishing excursion, dolphin watching and a historical walking tour

b) Lounging on a tropical beach, building sandcastles and searching for sea shells

c) Backpacking through Europe and bungee jumping off the Ponsonnas bridge in France

d) Skiing with your family in the Rocky Mountains, drinking hot chocolate and watching movies

2. At a party, you are most likely to:

a) Help the host prepare hors d'oeuvres and make sure everyone has a full drink

b) Turn on your favorite tunes and encourage everyone to participate in a limbo competition

c) Tell jokes and keep the crowd laughing all night

d) Talk and mingle, you mix well with anyone

3. Your ideal pet is:

a) A pure bred dog, preferably something small that you can carry in a stylish bag

b) Exotic fish that live in a saltwater tank in your living room

c) A sugar glider that likes to ride around on your shoulder

d) A mutt—no one really knows what kind of dog he is, but you think he’s the perfect mix

4. In high school you were voted:

a) Best personality

b) Most unique

c) Class clown

d) Best all around

5. You like to spend your free time:

a) Volunteering as a candy stripe at a local hospital

b) Playing guitar

c) Going to movies

d) Reading a great book

Mayfield Mom Squad annual training

Mayfield Moms — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:20:00 -0400

If you've thought about becoming a Mayfield Mom but haven't been able to make that final decision, maybe this will help push you over the edge. We have an annual training so the all the Moms will be up to speed on all the great things going on at Mayfield. This year was the best one yet. Not only did the Moms learn about the exciting plans for the year but we all had a fun-filled evening and even held our own competition - American Idol Mom Squad Edition. Groups of Moms had limited time to choose a song and costumes and to choreograph a number to perform in front of all their peers and be judged by a panel of very critical judges! The winning group performed Old Time Rock n' Roll and knocked the judges' socks off! If you want your shot at making your big break, if you join the Mayfield Mom Squad, who knows, you may be the next American Idol - plus you'll be able to help spread the word about Mayfield and our wonderful products!!

2007 Mom Squad Idols!

My trip to Super Bowl XLI

Executive Team — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:59:00 -0400

The trip to Super Bowl XLI was incredible. Everything about the weekend in south Florida was as hoped…except for the weather.

The highlight had to be Saturday night’s dinner at famous Joe’s Stone Crab on South Beach. While enduring the three-hour wait I saw the likes of Jessie Jackson, comedian Chris Rock, P. Diddy, ESPN announcer Merle Hodge, former 49er quarterback Steve Young and countless others whose faces were familiar, but whose names weren’t.

Although security at Super Bowls has increased dramatically since 9-11, the line to get into the stadium this year was the worst ever. It took over two hours just to get to the screening area, and another hour to get to my seat. The wait was made more tolerable thanks to a very pleasant conversation with the lady in front of me, Connie Payton, widow of former Bears great Walter Payton.

As a Colts fan – more specifically a Peyton Manning fan – I loved the outcome of the game. Despite getting soaked, it was the most memorable Super Bowl ever. Can’t wait to get to Glendale in 2008.

Alan

Congratulations to Marietta Middle School

Scottie Mayfield — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:29:00 -0500

On March 1^st, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon for the folks who prepare food for the students who attend Marietta City schools. Actually, Mayfield Dairy Farms hosted the affair as a "reward and thank you" to these people who provide nutritious meals for students. Under the direction of Sandy Laffan, Nutrition Director, they entered a national contest.

The contest was sponsored by Dairy Field Magazine and the dairy farmers who fund the American Dairy Council. Since milk is such an important part of the nutritious meals prepared and served to the students, the contest was centered around increasing participation in the meal program.

Marietta City schools, particularly Marietta Middle School, did so well they were one of the national winners of the contest. They created some great signage which featured the change from the traditional paper package to our new plastic half-pint school package. Their milk consumption changes were incredible, with 43,840 additional units of milk being served to a student body of 1,091, and that was only in the first three months of school.

They were able to accomplish this by promoting their food service opportunities, especially breakfast. I think breakfast experienced the biggest increase. Their participation in lunch was up 6%. That is really great considering their participation in lunch was already good.

There is more information on the school web site – www.marietta-city.k12.ga.us and the person who helped to create their signage has a web site – cath@brazealconsulting.net. Her signage is great.

We wanted to have a luncheon for the folks who prepare all the food for our children because we know the pride they take in providing nutritious meals for “their” students. This is true at Marietta City and every other school system I have ever visited. My hat is off to the folks at Marietta City and to all the folks in every school food service system. Thanks to them for doing a great job feeding our youth!

From Left: Ruth Gordon; Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Director, Sandy Laffan; Marietta City School Nutrition Director, Susan Cheshire; Executive Director; Georgia School Nutrition Association, Paula Daniels, Marietta Middle School Manager and me.

My Valentine

Mayfield Moms — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:21:00 -0500

Is there anything better than a "job" where you love what you do, and your family obviously loves what you do!?! Mayfield Mom Brittney here. I wanted to share with you my valentine from my son. His project in the computer lab on Valentine's Day was to write his mommy and daddy a letter and here you go - I thought it was too cute!

My day at school

Mayfield Moms — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:16:00 -0500

Hi there, Pamela here again, I just had to share this.

Last Monday the 3rd grade aide was sick so I was her sub for the day. Here I am standing at the class room door welcoming the children as they arrive. I notice they have food, so, now I am thinking YEAH PARTY!!!! I start asking if it is someone's birthday? It was even better than that. We were going to have a Feast for Georgia Day. The Feast was to be lunch (great because I did not bring one). The parents came, decorated and brought even more food (two long..... tables full). Of course I felt like I should earn my lunch so I pitched in to help. Now the purpose was to bring a food from Georgia like peaches (or recipes made with peaches),coke, pecans etc..... Guess what!!! There as a container of Mayfield Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream and of course I was so happy and thought how about that. I asked who brought the Mayfield Ice Cream and then one of the moms said, "I did as what would Georgia day be without Mayfield Ice Cream?" I was too tickled. I thanked her and said yes we have been in Georgia a long time. I did tell her Mayfield started in Tennessee but Georgia is one of our biggest and best markets and (in my opinion) was Mayfield's second home. Well, I ended up serving the Ice Cream as they had a horrible scoop and the children were having a hard time serving themselves.

I came home and told my husband. "You will never guess what I did at school today".

Have a great day!

More about our company founder

Rob Mayfield — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:50:00 -0500

My Grandmother told me that the first year of making ice cream was a learning experience. My Grandfather built up an inventory of ice cream, which was sold on the 4^th of July. With this money, he built a new creamery on Green Street in downtown Athens. Not only did he make ice cream, but he installed the first milk pasteurizer between Knoxville and Chattanooga. The high quality of both his milk and ice cream made the business successful from the start. The ice cream business covered East Tennessee, Western North Carolina and the North Georgia mountains. Customers dipped bulk ice cream and sold novelties. The milk business was much more localized – mainly glass quart bottles for home delivery.

My Grandfather was both a successful farmer and business man. He was also a generous person, who gave away buttermilk and other items to people during the great depression. By the time of his death, the farm had three large dairy barns and over a hundred Jersey cows. The creamery also purchased milk from thirty-four other farms. Daily milk processing was over four hundred gallons and annual ice cream sales were over 60,000 gallons. Weekly payroll was nearly $500 for the thirty employees. There were five ice cream trucks and three milk trucks.

We’ve already mentioned eating ice cream at the St. Louis fair as a reason for getting into the dairy business, but something else he did changed the focus of the family farm. You see, my Great Grandfather’s principal business was horses and mules. My Grandfather came home from college with a Model A Ford! Time to focus on Jersey cows and the dairy industry.

What a race!

Visitor Center — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:20:00 -0500

What a race! The Helen Ross McNabb Center cardboard sled race, that has been held for six years now at Ober Gatlinburg, was held Feb. 2, 2007. It is a sled race down the snow packed slope at Ober Gatlinburg. Any business or individual can enter to participate as long as you follow the guidelines for building the sled. You have to build the sled out of cardboard and tape. You can have 2 to 4 people who ride the sled down the slope.

Mayfield has participated for the last three years. Each year Randy Ballew designs and builds the sled with the help of fellow rider Russell Mahery. The creativity and talent that they put into building the sleds is unbelievable. This year our sled was a giant Snow Cream Pop Stix that bursts out of the carton. With only one set of handles built into the front of the sled, Russell was holding on for dear life, with the rest of the team (Heather Buchanan, Ashley Reed, and Randy) behind him. Just as we were on our sled and waiting for the time to go, the course staff members could not hold our sled on the starting line, causing us to be disqualified due to a false start. Even though we didn't win, our sled definitely stood out among the others. As we handed out snow pops to our competitors, they couldn't help but to cheer for us. After all, we are Mayfield....."The World's Best Ice Cream".

Ashley Reed and Heather Buchanan

This year's sled

Sled from 2 years ago

We made it!

Product Team — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:22:00 -0500

Alright, well I suppose I’ve left you all hanging long enough. Scott and I did indeed go on…

Our group left base camp the following day at 2 a.m. With four people per team, each climber was tied to the next and the only lights were those on our helmets. Scott and I made up the lead rope team and were the first team to ascend the peak in 2004! After eight hours and conquering a 70-degree wall of ice, we were two of only four climbers from our original group to reach the top of Mt. Rainier!

At 10:30 a.m., we began the steep descent – that was the most difficult part of our climb because the weather was pretty bad and we couldn’t see 30 feet in front of us.

I think we could have been more physically prepared than we were, but there is simply no way to prepare for the mental aspects of they type of challenged. If either of us had gone alone, we probably would have turned back. Teamwork was the key to reaching the top and I am glad Scott was on my team! Needless to say, we were both pretty proud. We even went on another adventure, maybe Scott will share that experience with you…

Eddie

A Mom story

Mayfield Moms — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:23:00 -0500

Hello there, Pamela again. As a Mayfield Mom, I usually have my eyes and ears out for an opportunity to tell someone about Mayfield and their products. I have a cute story to share with you that proves you just never know when that might happen...

I was subbing for the Chemistry teacher on Monday (she was sick and had to go home). Well anyway a couple of the young ladies (10th grade) were discussing an equation and had this little saying to help them remember the order - King Henry drank chocolate milk and it poisoned him. Of course I interjected and asked could they possibly change the chocolate milk part as I hated to think chocolate milk being a poison and since I did work for Mayfield I would much appreciate it. They laughed and we discussed other possible options.

So, just so it's clear, chocolate milk is not poison in any way and according to Wikipedia, King Henry was never poisoned!!

Have a great day. Pamela

Mayfield Day at the Ice Chalet

Scottie Mayfield — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:00:00 -0500

It has been a long time since I have been ice skating and Saturday I decided I did not need to put on a pair of skates to enjoy the Ice Chalet in Knoxville. The folks at the Ice Chalet were kind enough to let us sample their skaters with our four new flavors of ice cream for 2007. I think it is supposed to be a surprise and I am not supposed to mention the flavors in this blog, but since that was the reason for being at the Ice Chalet and a bunch of folks sampled them, I think I should tell you about them.

First, I need to mention the Ice Chalet experience. It was great! It was obvious people were having a great time. I saw some folks who appeared to be regulars and some who were first-timers. One family I knew was attending a birthday party. As they arrived, the Mom and Dad said, “This should be interesting.” I think the ages of their children were 4, 7 and 10. As they were leaving, they said, with a big smile, “That was interesting.” The place was packed. We served ice cream inside the skating area near the spectator stands. There was a big fireplace in the lobby area, which made it really warm. The rink area was appropriately cold. The manager said, “The colder the weather - the bigger the crowd.” Personally, I think we should all mark our calendars to go visit in the summer when it is too hot to be outside.

Now for the flavors: Chocolate Cream Pie, Olde Savannah Caramel, Coconut Cake and Peanut Butterific. OK, I’ll do the formal descriptions and then tell you our preferences:

Chocolate Cream Pie – Chocolate ice cream with bon bon marshmallow, a graham cracker swirl and chocolate chips. (Dark chocolate chips)

Olde Savannah Caramel – Caramel ice cream with a caramel ribbon and English Toffee pieces. (My personal favorite)

Coconut Cake – Coconut ice cream with a white icing and cake pieces. (Similar to Birthday Cake ice cream - only Coconut. Even people who professed to not like coconut liked it)

Peanut Butterific – Peanut butter ice cream with a chocolate peanut butter swirl and chocolate-covered peanuts.

Here are the results of those of us who listened to comments and did some sampling of our own. The Chocolate Cream Pie ran out first so we think it won, but only because people tried it by itself and then they started mixing it. I’m not sure whether the combination of Chocolate Cream Pie and Coconut Cake was preferred over the combo with Peanut Butterific. I thought it went well with the Olde Savannah Caramel, which came in a close second as a stand alone flavor. I think Coconut Cake and Peanut Butterific tied for third. Generally speaking, it looks like a tasty ice cream season coming up.

One thing we need to talk about and get some input on is: How do you say “Caramel?” Is it car-a-mel or care-a-mel? I always say care-a-mel, but I sure did hear a bunch of people say car-a-mel. Regardless of how you say it, it sure does taste good. The pieces of English Toffee are really good.

These flavors should be in the stores in March. We will probably have some folks stock them early, so go check-out the stores.

Scottie

Here's some pictures from the event...

From left, back row: Arianna McElyea, Falcon LaBorde, Me, Lucy Han, Marsean Oyler, Ashley Boling, and Ella Hulsey.

From left, front row: Tori Dziezyk, Jeshua Jacklet, Kelley Dziezyk, Rebecca Varnon, Holly Pattinson, and Kaleigh Lain.