BRYAN, TEXAS – The Southwest Meat Association (SMA) launched a rebrand that leaders say better reflects the growth, values and mission of the organization. In May, during SMA’s strategic planning meeting, the association’s board of directors, staff and industry professional decided the time had come to reformulate the association’s mission and vision statement as membership had grown outside of the southwestern region of the United States driving a demographic shift within its membership.
“People are familiar with the SMA acronym, so we decided to leave it the same and take out southwest meat association, that way the organization does not limit itself to people thinking SMA only works with companies in the southwest of the United States,” said Karrie Menz, vice president of Quality at Surlean Foods and SMA Immediate Past Chairman.
So, SMA’s mission is, “To support US processors and their suppliers through networking, advocacy, education, and regulatory expertise.”
The association’s vision is, “To be the nation’s leading food industry association whose members cultivate a culture of excellence through shared core values, enhancing opportunities for their long-term success.”
SMA also used the strategic planning time to restructure the association’s core values surrounding family, leadership, integrity, excellence, and credibility.
As for its core strategies, the association intends to:
- Define membership value and communicate with members regularly to encourage engagement and retention.
- Identify opportunities to increase regular membership and associate membership to ensure the long-term sustainability of SMA.
- Identify opportunities to increase revenue to ensure the long-term sustainability of SMA.
- Increase engagement with new universities to attract students and access educational content.
“SMA is ambitious to move forward with our newfound strategies and mission to realign the association for current and future members,” the association said.
