The Dairy Blog

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 would you do?

Jan Montgomery — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:08:00 -0500

Hi, I'm Tiffany, and I work in Consumer Affairs with Jan. One of the best parts about my job is hearing funny stories from Mayfield fans. You never know when you're going to hear one that brightens your day and maybe even add a little laughter. I recently received an e-mail from a customer who was looking for Hog Heaven. Unfortunately, it is discontinued and I had to break the bad news to her. Fortunately though, she took the upset in stride and her response back to me was a story that I want to share with you all...

I must run with Ice Cream aficionados! My son, when he was about 15, told me to speed up to catch up with a Mayfield truck. He climbed up out of the window and yelled "Pull over. I've got a spoon and I'm not afraid to use it!" while he pointed his spoon at them! Then one day, my friend and I pulled into a gas station where we saw a Mayfield truck, and (although she is tiny) she said "Pull up by him, I am pretty sure we can take him!" I wondered how many people think the same thing when they see a Mayfield truck.

We wonder too! Do you get an overwhelming urge to do something silly when you spot one of our bright yellow trucks? Tell us your story. We would love to hear it!

Tiffany

Mix It Up With Mayfield!

Recipe of the Month Club — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:51:00 -0500

Put Your Best Dairy Recipes to the Test in the Mix It Up With Mayfield Recipe Contest

The Mayfield Recipe of the Month Club is your best source for creative, easy recipes that satisfy your family and always include delicious Mayfield dairy products.

Now, you can join the club and enter your best dairy recipes for a chance to win fabulous prizes for the discerning home chef.

Enter your best dairy recipe
before March 31, 2007,
for your chance to win.

Click HERE to enter!

Why I am so excited

Executive Team — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:39:00 -0500

It’s the time of year when I get real excited here at Mayfield. New items? Producing new commercials? The launch of feature flavors? Well, “yes” to all the above, but the real source of my fervor is…the Super Bowl!

Since 1979, I’ve made attending the World Championship my goal and annual vacation. Following Super Bowl XL last year in Detroit, I’ve been able to say I’ve attended in person half of all Super Bowls ever played. Ranging from SB XIII, where I saw Terry Bradshaw carve up the Dallas defense to last year’s magical run of the Pittsburgh Steelers, these games have provided this sports junkie with a lifetime of memories.

As a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I’m especially jazzed about this year’s matchup because it features former Volunteer Peyton Manning. Manning will always be the “favorite son” of Vol fans because he opted out of entering the NFL draft after his junior season. Keeping my fingers crossed for him.

See you in Miami!

Alan

Our company founder

Rob Mayfield — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:11:00 -0500

The founder of Mayfield Dairy Farms is my grandfather and I want to share with you a little bit about him in my next couple of blogs. I hope you enjoy…

Even though my Great Grandfather (1853-1941) may have sold milk and butter as early as the 1880’s, it is my Grandfather, T. B. Mayfield, Jr. (1888-1937), who we consider the founder of Mayfield Dairy Farms. I never knew my Grandfather, as he died young, before age fifty, which would be twelve years before I was born. I’ll try to relate what I do know of him, from memory of things my Grandmother said, and from some of my Father’s remembrances and writings. There are very few pictures of my Grandfather, and those we have shown him always wearing a hat.

T. B. Mayfield, Jr. (Brient) stood 5’10 ½”, medium build with grey eyes and dark brown hair. I know from my Father’s writings that “he studied mechanical and electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee. He understood how simple machines worked and he could fix almost anything. He was a great teacher who taught several ordinary workers to be good mechanics. He loved Jersey cows and, while showing Jersey cows at the St. Louis Fair around 1910, he ate his first ice cream cone and decided he wanted to be in the ice cream business. He had a great vision of the future, which included a 4-lane highway from Knoxville to Chattanooga and how Athens (down in the country where the cows are) was the right location to serve these growing markets.”

During the period from 1910 to 1923, my Grandfather was a partner with his father and together they farmed the 824-acre family dairy farm. He married Goldie Denton Mayfield (1898-1993) in 1918 and they had four children – two boys and two girls. In 1913, he built a spring house that used a constant flow of cold spring water pumped by a hydraulic ram. (This was before electricity was available.) At age 35, in 1923, he purchased an existing ice cream business that was located in the Athens Ice Plant.

Our climb

Product Team — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:33:00 -0500

Eddie here. You usually hear about how Mayfield products are made from me, but I’ve got something a little different for you this month. Don’t worry, that inside look into life as a plant manager is not lost forever, I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my life as a…

I was inspired by a book called Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer about his climb up Mt. Everest. Yes, inspired to climb a mountain and not inspired to avoid climbing a mountain! So, with that inspiration, I set out to climb Mt. Rainier. At 14,411 feet, Mt. Rainier is the tallest peak in Washington and the most heavily glaciated peak in the contiguous United States. Yeah, and pretty dangerous, too!

Well, I wasn’t going to do this alone, so I shared my goal with Scott Watson and got him suckered into it. We have more in common than just both being plant managers for Mayfield! We began by training in December 2003 by running, weight training and taking long hikes in the Smoky Mountains carrying 45-pound backpacks!

It was on May 12 that we arrived in Washington. The next day, along with 12 other climbers, we began our hike at 5,000 feet. With a deep snow and a 30-degree pitch up the mountain, the journey of 4.5 miles took six hours. When we reached the base camp at 10,000 feet, 11 climbers decided to continue the climb. Stay tuned to see if Scott and I were among them…

Eddie

ME SCOTT

Coffee House Fudge

Product Team — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:45:00 -0500

If you like coffee flavored ice cream, you should try our new one. It’s called Coffee House Fudge and it’s only available in our Select 2-piece package. This product is actually a reformulation of our old Jamocha Fudge, except with a much better flavor. It took some tweaking, but with the help from our friends at Virginia Dare we finally came up with the combination of coffee flavors that we were looking for. It’s simply a smooth coffee flavored ice cream with a ribbon of chocolate fudge running through it.

Scott

Think About Your Drink

Scottie Mayfield — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:34:00 -0500

Holy Cow! I just did a blog last Friday and something newsworthy is happening today. I usually post one blog a month, but this is sort of special. There is a study being released today about eating trends. It made sense to write something about it since it mentions milk.

To prepare myself to write about this, I went to the website. It covers consumption trends and the fact that 22% of the calories we consume are liquid. It goes into great detail and has some very interesting information. My conclusion is that those who are interested would be better served if they went direct to the website instead of me trying to repeat what is there. The website is www.thinkaboutyourdrink.com.

Happy New Year

Scottie Mayfield — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:54:00 -0500

At this point in my blogging career, I realize that I will repeat myself. Even though I will try not to do so, I am sure it will happen. Please forgive me when I do, but I am choosing to not go back and review all my past blogs. I can only hope that when I do repeat myself it is on a subject of value.

This is the time of year for New Year resolutions. So, I thought I would take the cliché route and talk about just that - New Year resolutions. This is the time of year many of us say we are going to eat better and exercise more. I hope we all are successful. If we are, it will be good for our milk business. However, I am not sure it will have a positive effect on our ice cream business.

In the last few days, I have read three or four commentaries by famous people and they seemed to be filling space. It is a hard subject to address, but I think some benefits can come from really taking the time to look at where we are going and whether or not our daily routines are fulfilling. There are many things that I do, but not all of them are fulfilling. Most of us need to give those things that are fulfilling more of our time and reduce the amount of time we spend doing things that are not fulfilling. Easy to say - not so easy to do. So, I want to offer some suggestions.

The first step is to identify fulfilling endeavors. So, if I could suggest a New Year resolution, what would it be? It would be to set a goal to identify some lifestyle changes that could be adopted to provide a more fulfilling lifestyle by July 2007.

How should you start? Think of some people who seem to be happy all the time. Make a list. You decide if it is two or ten. Sit down with each of them individually and ask about their fulfillment. Try to understand which of their lifestyle habits you would be comfortable emulating in your own way. Get enough ideas and plan your own planning session. When thinking about the questions you would ask these people, make sure you are balanced. Make sure to ask about physical, mental and spiritual fulfillment. Make sure you include one person of the opposite sex and one person of a different age group.

Once you make a list of things that work for other people, it is soul searching time. You must decide who you are, what you want and how to make changes in your day-to-day activities to achieve those lifestyle changes.

Reading is also a possible way to add to this thought process. We hear people talk about what they would do if they were given a limited amount of time to live. For young folks, this is hard to grasp. Once you cross the 50-year mark and you have a few friends and family leave this world before their time, it becomes easy to admit our time here will end some day. An interesting book to read is “Chasing Daylight” by Gene O’Kelly.

Well, I have certainly gotten way too deep with this discussion. I will try to lighten up next month. Best of luck creating a more fulfilling lifestyle.

Best wishes for happy, healthy and prosperous year to everyone.

Scottie

When I'm not home

Executive Team — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:35:00 -0500

While traveling in Europe, (actually Ireland) I noticed how much advertising was devoted to probiotic products. It was on television, billboards and buses across the entire country. Although we may be a little behind in the U.S., I was proud of the fact that Mayfield had been one of the first to take advantage of probiotics in milk through NuTrish Milk. I have been drinking this "value-added" product for years and can tell a difference in my body when I am out of town and don't have access to it. And, even though it is a lowfat 1% product, my kids even love it.

Mary Williams

Tis the season!

Scottie Mayfield — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:25:00 -0500

In order to serve our customers with fresh milk and ice cream, we have several distribution centers. We have Christmas parties at each facility this time of the year. Some parties are small and some are large, especially at our plants in Athens, TN, Braselton, GA and Birmingham, AL. Everyone plans their own party. In most places, a lunch is provided and in other locations an evening meal is preferred.

The party I attended Saturday was in Rainesville, AL. The meal was served to the route sales folks as they finished their routes. The food was prepared by the wife of one of our route sales guys. Talk about good food! It was like eating with “Mom.”

Our management team tries to visit as many of these parties as we can. In some cases, it is our yearly visit with some of these employees. I really enjoy seeing them and wish I could make more of the parties, but it is impossible to make them all. So far, I have been to five. I will visit two parties today and three more before Christmas.

We have two parties that really make Christmas for me. The folks at our Morristown and Tri-Cities branches invite their families to their parties. They also buy presents for all the children. Each year Santa comes. I think it is Santa. If not, he is a helper. He seems to know each child. One at a time the children visit Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas and he gives them a small gift. I get to be his helper and it is really fun. The children’s ages range, as you would think, from so young they really don’t know who Santa is to old enough to make sure they don’t let their parents get a picture of them next to Santa. Some children are in awe of Santa and can’t wait to sit on his knee. A few want to talk to Santa, but from a distance and in the safety of their Mother’s arms.

There is nothing like good food, families visiting and children excited about Christmas.

These two parties are early enough to get me in the Christmas spirit. The Tri-Cities party was this past Sunday. We had our Christmas Cantata at church that morning and then the party that afternoon was a great combination to get me into the Christmas spirit.

I hope everyone finds a way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas!

            Scottie

Festival of Trees

Mayfield Moms — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:03:00 -0500

Mayfield Mom Pamela here! I wanted to tell you about the Festival of Trees so you can go check out the best looking and only yellow tree there! You have until Sunday, so hurry! When we were decorating the tree, we did not have on a Mayfield uniform (we had warm-ups on as we were crawling all over the place) and everyone around certainly new it was a Mayfield Tree. Olivia did a great job picking out items at the Braselton Visitor Center Gift Shop. The rulers looked like ribbon going thru the tree (fantastic) and the little key rings looked adorable. The tree was loaded with goodies (the photo does not do it justice). We had so much fun and so many people came over and wanted to tell us that they love Mayfield Milk. One lady had moved 12 years ago from NY and said it was the only milk she would use. Isn't it great we hear that over and over? I just love being a MAYFIELD MOM!

Have a great day.

Question #1

Jan Montgomery — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:49:00 -0500

And here it is...

Question #1 - Is the date stamped on the milk jug an expiration date or a “sell-by” date, and can I use the milk past the date?

The date on our milk jug is the “sell-by” date. This date lets our route salesperson know when they should remove the milk from the store shelf; however, the consumer should be able to use the milk for about seven to ten days after the date as long as the product is kept under proper refrigeration. The best temperature for milk storage is 33° to 38° Fahrenheit. When the temperature of milk increases above 38° the shelf life decreases, so as far as dairy products go, your motto should be KEEP IT COLD! If you don’t keep a thermometer in your fridge, then I encourage you to get one so you know you are maintaining the best temperature for your dairy products.

Hope I've answered some of your own questions! Let me know if you have any others.

Happy Holidays,

Jan

The Snow Cream Story

Executive Team — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:30:00 -0500

Here’s a little more information about the history of Mayfield Snow Cream…

Three years ago I was approached by company president Scottie Mayfield about an idea for a wintertime feature flavor. It seems he had come across a lady from Spruce Pine, North Carolina who had a formula for a product she called “Snow Cream,” and she trademarked the name to deter infringement on her idea.

Now, when I was growing up in East Tennessee we received about two snowfalls a year and, besides schools shutting down, one of the highlights of such an occasion was making homemade snow cream. The recipe was quiet simple – take a bowl of freshly fallen snow, add a half cup of whole milk, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and sugar to taste. What a treat!

As much as I loved this concoction as a kid, I had reservations about its potential success as an ice cream flavor. After all, I didn’t know if other folks had similar experiences (like Rob) or if people would even know what snow cream was all about.

Still skeptical, we designed a unique carton fitting of the name and made the first run of this product in October 2003. Believing the initial production would last us through December, we promptly ran out in five days! The product was an instant hit and became the buzz of Mayfield lovers throughout the South.

Because I had so underestimated the volume of this product many grocers’ shelves were without until we were finally able to get enough cartons to supply our entire region. Additionally, the enthusiasm surrounding the product spawned offshoots such as Snow Cream Stix and Snow Cream Lowfat Vanilla Milk.

Today, Snow Cream® continues to thrive, and a product that had an expected life of four months has stretched that to three years…and counting.

Alan

Keep your fingers crossed for snow!

Rob Mayfield — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 17:02:00 -0500

Scottie and I were next door neighbors on the farm, maybe a quarter of a mile from each other. I’m eleven months older, so I was one grade ahead. Some of the best times happened during the winter when it snowed. My driveway was longer and steeper, which made a great sled run. Scottie and I, along with other siblings and friends, would compress the snow with our feet. Near the bottom of the driveway we would build a snow jump a foot high. During a fast downhill sled run it seemed we would jump several feet through the air. Many times the jump would cause us to lose control and crash into the huge oak tree just to the left of the driveway.

After a morning of sledding, we would walk back to Scottie’s house for lunch. His mother, my Aunt Muriel, would fix soup and sandwiches, and for dessert she made snow cream! Fresh snow, powdered sugar, Mayfield milk and vanilla extract. What a great treat. Nearly fifty years later, Scottie remembered this special treat, and our product development folks worked diligently to create the same fun sweet treat that we had after playing in the snow on the farm!

Do you have a Snow Cream story?

Rob

Question #2

Jan Montgomery — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:19:00 -0500

Question # 2 – Is Mayfield milk and ice cream available in my state?

We distribute our ice cream and other frozen dairy products in Eastern and Middle Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, portions of North Carolina, a small area of Mississippi where it borders Alabama, as well as parts of Kentucky and Virginia that border Tennessee.

Our milk is available in Eastern Tennessee, upper Georgia and the Metro Atlanta area, as well

as parts of Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia where they border Tennessee.

Feel free to call our office at 1-800-MAYFIELD or contact us by e-mail if you would like to know if Mayfield products are available in your area.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Jan

Visitor Center Staff

Visitor Center — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:03:00 -0500

Well I can't write another blog without telling you about the Visitor Center Staff. What an amazing group of people. This department could not operate without the smiling faces and pleasant attitudes that each one of them carries everyday. When you enter the Visitor Center you could be greeted by either Lori, Donna, Ashley, Naomi, or Heather. When you go to the ice cream parlor you'll be greeted and waited on by either Deborah, Marla, Devon, Alicia, or Amanda. And not only do these wonderful employees greet and serve you in the ice cream parlor or gift shop, but they are also the Tour Guides. Most people stand in amazement when they see how we can operate and take care of everybody that's here even when there are 200 or more school children running around. I think the most school children that were here at the same time came to be almost 800 at one time. Well I just had to mention the wonderful staff at the Visitor Center so that maybe you'll know them a little better when you come to visit.

Until next time,

Chad

Question #3

Jan Montgomery — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:37:00 -0500

Question # 3 - Why a yellow milk jug?

Most people don’t realize that sunlight and light in the dairy case have a negative affect on the quality and taste of milk. Even short term exposure can cause the milk to develop a metallic or “cardboard-like” flavor. Exposure to light also causes a loss of vitamins in milk, with Vitamins A and B2 (riboflavin) affected the most. In 1983 Mayfield became the first dairy to package milk in the yellow jug which reflects light rays and protects the flavor and nutrients.

Two more questions left...do you have any?

School Milk

Scottie Mayfield — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:33:00 -0500

I had a great visit with Cheryl Hayn last week. She is the Chief Executive Officer of SUDIA (Southeast United Dairy Industry Association). SUDIA is an organization that is funded by dairy farmers in the Southeastern United States. They are affiliated with the American Dairy Association and the National Dairy Council. Their strategic purpose is to drive increased sales of and demand for U. S. dairy products and ingredients. They have been very helpful in doing research that gives us (Mayfield) information on products and packages that can help us provide products that consumers want.

            One area they have been very helpful in is school milk. Due to some research they have done and some research the Milk Mustache folks (MilkPEP) have done, we introduced a small plastic bottle for schools last year. And, this year we changed the graphics on our paper milk carton to a camouflage pattern that the kids think is “cool.” SUDIA was responsible for the research on plastic packaging. The result has been great. It is just like when we introduced the Chug_® back in 1995. Back then our pint sales soared. Similar results are taking place in schools.

            Once schools systems put plastic half pints in their cafeteria plan, we typically see increased consumption. It is interesting because the first increase in consumption is noticed by the cafeteria staff when they take out the trash. They can tell that the milk containers are empty whereas before it appeared that students were not consuming the milk that was automatically placed on their tray as a part of the lunch program. The next change that is noticed is a slight increase in extra milks purchased. Lastly, the cafeteria experiences an increase in total participation.

            Increased participation by our children in school food programs is very important. It is important because the meals are very nutritious. The school cafeterias do an excellent job of providing balanced, tasty and nutritious meals. There is strong research supporting the positive impact breakfast and lunch have on the education of our children. We need to tip our hats to the folks who feed our children in our school systems. If you want a great meal, go visit your child at lunch.

            Cheryl explained that SUDIA was continuing to do research to help the dairy industry find more ways to make milk a part of more meals for children and adults alike. They will be developing partnerships with companies like ours to seek ways to utilize the findings of this research. They will be giving us more tools to convince people than “milk does a body good.” And, it does!

Question #5

Jan Montgomery — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:47:00 -0400

There are a few questions that Consumer Affairs receives from our customers on a regular basis, so my next few postings are going to be dedicated to answering the top five. In the tradition of “The Late Show” I’m counting down to number one.

Question #5 - Is Scottie a real person?

Believe it or not something we are asked repeatedly is whether or not Scottie Mayfield is a real person, does he really work at Mayfield Dairy and do we ever get to talk to him. The answer to all is YES!   That is really Scottie you see in our commercials and hear on the radio. He is based at our company headquarters in Athens, Tennessee and we do see and talk to him, just not on a daily basis. He checks in with our department periodically to see what you all are calling and e-mailing us about, and sometimes he will talk about an issue with a consumer (like the Sour Pops he mentioned in his latest posting).

Stay tuned for Question #4...

Jan

My daughter's wedding

Scottie Mayfield — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:45:00 -0400

My blog last week wasn’t very good, and I apologize. I did explain that I was waiting to talk about my daughter’s wedding.   It was great! The best part was that Mariah and Alex really enjoyed the entire weekend. It was filled with family, friends, food and fun, but we were never rushed. We did not have any crises. And, we were blessed with wonderful weather.

The wedding really lasted three days.

Thursday was decoration time at the church, tents and barn. Thursday afternoon was the rehearsal at the little church at Mouse Creek Nursery in Riceville, Tennessee. (They have fabulous perennials – great quality and variety.) After the rehearsal, we had a nice, small dinner hosted by the Woods at the Keith Mansion. (It is a fabulous Bed and Breakfast in Athens, Tennessee with a rich heritage going back before the Civil War.) Mostly family and a great opportunity to meet extended family.

            Friday morning involved a more organized decorating party of Mariah and her friends and my wife, Lisa, and her friends. They put the final touches on decorations. Michael, Charles (Mariah’s brothers) and I went to our cabin at Watts Bar Lake, where we prepared for a welcome party for the out-of-town guests. Mariah went to college in Montana so she had friends from Oregon, Montana, New Mexico and Maryland. We had other family and friends from Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and England.   The welcome party was fun and very casual (ribs, chicken and the fixings), with skeet shooting on the point and Bluegrass Music by Hiwassee Ridge. We capped the night off with a big bonfire on the point after the sun went down.

            Saturday morning was filled with final touches on the decorations around the tent, barn and house. The wedding started at 3:00 and it was great! The little church would not hold everyone, so the plan was to let the children stand on bales of straw and peer through the windows. Talk about cute! After I gave Mariah away and went to sit with Lisa, I could see three little heads in the window to my left totally engulfed in the ceremony.

            The most important and most impressive part of the entire weekend was that it was all about Mariah and Alex and they experienced and enjoyed every minute.

            In closing my blog on the wedding, I must tell you about the wedding photographer - Melanie Nashan. She is from Montana. Mariah met her at a friend’s wedding. She travels anywhere and she is really good and surprisingly more affordable than you might think to travel so far. She became a member of the family. Her website is www.nashan.com. If you will go there and click on her blog, she has a posting about the wedding. After reading it, I almost did not write mine blog because her blog is really good. Melanie and Taylor Monen practically lived with us for two days. I need to mention Taylor Monen. She was our wedding coordinator and her business name is Soiree’s (taylor@soireesonline.com). Mariah met her in Chattanooga. She was very good. I have never seen so much useful organization. She was persistent but nice and she really helped things come together without a hitch.

            Best of all, we have a very happy married couple. We are thankful.

            Change the channel for a minute. I have a little business I need to discuss. I had a consumer call today with a problem. We welcome people to call with problems, because it gives us a chance to solve them. In this case, I realized we are not perfect. It involved our Sour Pops 12- pack. The consumer had purchased numerous boxes over time and was disappointed when the box did not contain 4 Cherry, 4 Lemon-Lime and 4 Blue Raspberry. It seems to me that research was needed so I opened a number of boxes. I also talked to the folks on the production line and came up with two facts. First, I was reminded how good Sour Pops are. I felt like I should taste test each flavor and did. I liked all three flavors, but I think Cherry was my favorite. Second, I found out that it is very common for there to be

5 of one flavor, 4 of another and three of the last flavor. In under- standing how they are packed, all I can say is that if someone buys a box of 12 and they get five of a flavor, I only hope it is their favorite flavor, because we cannot guarantee each box will be 4, 4 and 4. I can guarantee they are not too sour; they are a real treat.

One last point and you may hear this from me again. We want to be perfect, but we cannot always be perfect. When I was sampling all the boxes of Sour Pops, I found one box with one Sour Pop that was broken. That is not what we want you. the consumer, to get. If you ever have any problem with one of our products, I hope you will call our Consumer Affairs folks at 1-800- MAYFIELD (800-629-3435) and allow us to send you a FREE coupon and also learn about the problem. Hopefully, we can prevent it from happening again. If not, we can at least make sure you got what you paid for.

Thanks again for checking out our blog. I hope you have a great day.

Scottie

2007 Features Flavors Chosen, but not Unveiled

Executive Team — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:04:00 -0400

At last, our four 2007 feature flavors for the Mayfield Select line have been chosen! Although I’m not allowed tip you off on the winners just yet, it was again a difficult decision, but we believe you’ll like our choices when they debut in March.

Almost 700 consumers, employees and visitors tried each flavor that made itself into the round of 12, and gave them a score of 1-10. There were a few suprises, but that happens every year. Of course it’s impossible for you to taste them now, but based on their names what marks would you have given them? Your choices are:

Coconut Crème Pie

Chocolate Caramel Toffee Cheesecake

Key Lime Pie

Chocolate Cream Pie

German Chocolate Cake

Double Cone Crunch

Boston Cream Pie

Baked Apple Pie

Peanut Butteriffic

Coconut Cake

Olde Savannah Caramel

Apple Brown Betty

If you didn’t get a chance to taste these contenders in September when we sampled them at our Athens and Braselton Visitors Centers, make plans to do it next year. Eating free ice cream is a great way to spend a day!

Alan