WASHINGTON -- Michael Roberts, president of the Food Products Business of Perdue Farms Inc., Salisbury, Md., has been installed as chairman of the National Chicken Council.

Thomas Hensley Jr., president of Fieldale Farms, Baldwin, Ga., took office as vice chairman; and Bernard Leonard, group vice president/Food Service, Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale, Ark., became secretary-treasurer.

The new officers were installed during the NCC annual conference held here. Officers serve one-year terms.

Roberts moved up to chairman from vice chairman. He has been a member of the NCC board of directors representing Perdue Farms for three years and has served on the NCC Executive Committee.

Roberts has been head of the Food Products Business at Perdue Farms since 2005, and was previously president and general manager of the Retail Division. He has been in the poultry industry since 1972 and joined Perdue in 2002 after serving in senior positions at several other poultry companies. He served on the NCC board from 1996 to 1998 as a representative of Foster Farms, Livingston, Calif. He is a former member of the board of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, based in Tucker, Ga.

Roberts and his wife, Brenda, live in Salisbury, Md. They have two daughters and two granddaughters in Atlanta, Ga.

Hensley has served on the NCC board since October 2001 and has worked for Fieldale Farms for 32 years. He became president of Fieldale following the death of Joe Hatfield earlier this year.

Hensley is also a member of the board of directors of Fieldale Farms. He has been involved in a wide variety of civic, business and professional organizations, including Salvation Army and the United Way.

Leonard joined Tyson Foods in 1998 when Tyson acquired Hudson Foods, where he was vice president of broiler sales and operations. With Tyson, he became vice president of operations, then moved into sales and operations as vice president and senior vice president, and became head of foodservice in November 2006. Having begun his career in the poultry industry in 1975, Leonard has served in various positions with industry associations. He is a former member of the board and Executive Committee of the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association. He spent 12 years on the board of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, serving as an officer for four years culminating with his being chairman in 1999. He joined the NCC board of directors in June 2007 and was elected to the Executive Committee in February of this year.

Leonard and his wife, Pamela, live in Lowell, Ark.

George Watts of Alexandria, Va., was elected to another term as president of NCC, a post he has held since 1972.

Newly elected members of NCC's Executive Committee and board of directors were announced at the association's annual conference.

Executive committee

Elected to one-year terms on the Executive Committee were Lampkin Butts, Sanderson Farms, Laurel, Miss.; Elise Durbin, Marshall Durbin Cos., Birmingham, Ala.; Mike Helgeson, Gold'n Plump Poultry, St. Cloud, Minn.; Monty Henderson, George's Inc., Springdale, Ark.; Thomas Hensley Jr., Fieldale Farms, Baldwin, Ga.; Don Jackson, Foster Farms, Livingston, Calif.; Bernard Leonard, Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark.; Pete Martin, Mar-Jac Poultry, Gainesville, Ga.; Michael Roberts, Perdue Farms, Salisbury, Md.; Tom Shelton, Case Foods, Eden, Md.; Todd Simmons, Simmons Foods, Siloam Springs, Ark.; and Michael Welch, Harrison Poultry, Bethlehem, Ga.

Directors

Elected to three-year terms on the board of directors were Robin Burruss, Tip Top Poultry, Marietta, Ga.; W.A. (Billy) Crider Jr., Crider Poultry, Stillmore, Ga.; Joe DePippo, Hain Pure Protein Corp., Brevard, N.C.; Alan Duncan, Mountaire Corp., North Little Rock, Ark.; Ron Foster, Foster Farms, Livingston, Calif.; Monty Henderson, George's Inc., Springdale, Ark.; Mark Hickman, Peco Foods, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Robert Johnson, House of Raeford, Rose Hill, N.C.; Bernard Leonard, Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark.; Keith Lewis, Keystone Foods, Huntsville, Ala.; Mark McKay, BC Natural Chicken LLC, Fredericksburg, Pa.; J. Michael Roberts, Perdue Farms, Salisbury, Md.; Joe Sanderson Jr., Sanderson Farms, Laurel, Miss.; and Thomas R. Shelton, Case Foods, Eden, Md.

Elected to one-year terms as directors-at-large were David Andrews, Ecolab, St. Paul, Minn.; Mark Barnes, Hubbard LLC, Pikeville, Tenn.; Curtis Coleman, Safe Foods Corp., North Little Rock, Ark.; Michael Cooper, Kincannon & Reed, Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Dale Davis, Baader Johnson, Kansas City, Kan.; Timothy Davis, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Pilot Mountain, N.C.; Karl Deily, Cryovac Division Sealed Air Corp., Duncan, S.C.; Edward Fryar, OMP Foods, Rogers, Ark.; Greg Osborn, Tasker Products, Fair Lawn, N.J.; Rick Phillips, Schering-Plough Animal Health, Pineville, La.; Alan Schuler, CoBank, Greenwood Village, Colo.; and Blair Snyder, Agri Stats, Ft. Wayne, Ind.