JOHN ANTHONY GUGLIELMI

John Anthony Guglielmi was born in Highland Park, Illinois in 1939. John was the younger of two sons of an Italian immigrant father and a first generation American born Italian mother. Upon completing high school in Illinois, John attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he played football for two years. It was at Duke University that John met his future wife, Chiquita Murray, of Mocksville, NC, who is the daughter of North Carolina Poultry Hall of Fame member, Malcolm Harry Murray.  John currently resides with Chiquita in Bermuda Run, NC. John has two children and seven grandchildren.

Upon finishing at Duke University in 1961, John’s career in the poultry business began with a training program at Holly Farms Poultry Industries in Wilkesboro, NC. John worked for several departments at Holly Farms during the training program, including Hatchery Operations, Grow Out Management and Sales. In 1966 Holly Farms relocated John to Mocksville, NC, where he learned the commodity purchasing aspect of the poultry business under the mentoring of M.H. Murray.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, John became involved in local and state politics. John worked diligently to educate policy makers on the needs of the poultry industry and to temper regulations that affected the industry. It was also during this same time period that John became active in die North Carolina Poultry Federation and the North Carolina Feed Manufacturers Association, quickly rising to leadership positions in both associations. John moved through the Chairs of the North Carolina Poultry Federation and became the Federation President in 1974.

In 1976, Holly Farms moved John back to Wilkesboro to head up the corporation’s Commodity Purchasing Department. The Department was challenged with the task of centralizing commodity purchasing for all of Holly Farms’ feed manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas. John’s success in leading the Commodity Purchasing Department resulted in his promotion to Vice President of the Corporation and his later being named to Holly Farms’ Executive Committee.

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a series of presidential and congressional actions that lead to the deregulation of a large segment of the transportation industry. Of major interest to the poultry industry, railroads and interstate trucking were deregulated, which resulted in a greater reliance on the market to produce quality service at reasonable prices for the movement of freight. John took a lead role as Chairman of the Traffic Committee for the Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association (now U.S. Poultry & Egg Association) and spearheaded the Association’s work with Congress and the United States Department of Transportation. As Traffic Committee Chairman, John also supported the poultry industry in monitoring transportation rates, surcharges, and cost electiveness of trucking and rail. The Traffic Committee under John’s leadership commissioned a study to measure the short term and long term effects of deregulation that was used for many years as a blueprint for future actions of the Association.

John’s tremendous efforts and leadership in the poultry industry earned him Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association’s highest award in 1978 — "Workhorse of the Year." Soon after, John was elected to the Board of Directors and later to the Executive Committee of Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association. J

John continued his statewide representation of the poultry industry as a member of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture. John worked closely with North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham, advising him on regulations and policies affecting the poultry industry. In 1982, John was elected President of Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association. In his role as President, John’s focus turned to Washington, D.C. Agriculture Secretary John Block became a focal point of John’s lobbying efforts to ensure that the poultry industry was being fairly represented in Washington.

As active as he was in his representation of the poultry industry, John never lost sight of his commitment to his community. John is a past member of the Mocksville Jaycees, as well as a member of the Masons. In Wilkesboro, John was a member of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, serving on the church’s vestry as both Junior and Senior Warden. John also served on the Foundation Board of the Diocese of Western North Carolina.

In honor of his numerous contributions, dedicated service, and tireless work on behalf of the poultry food industry, the Officers and Directors of the North Carolina Poultry Federation are very pleased to induct John Anthony Guglielmi into the North Carolina Poultry Hall of Fame, this the 17^th day of August, 2001.