SCHUMER REVEALS FAGE YOGURT TO BE SERVED AT THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL CEREMONIES – PRESIDENT WILL GET A TASTE OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
Schumer, Chairman of the Inaugural Ceremonies, Reveals the Selection of Fage Greek Yogurt to Be Served Before the Swearing-in of President and Vice President
President, Vice President, House & Senate Leaders, Cabinet Members and Supreme Court Will All Taste the Region’s Finest at Inaugural Ceremonies
Schumer: Fage Yogurt Is What’s For Breakfast at the 2013 Inauguration
Yesterday, at Fage USA in Johnstown Industrial Park, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), announced that Fage Greek Yogurt will be served to special guests before the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Luncheon. Fage USA, in Fulton County, will provide vanilla and plain yogurt to be served with strawberries, pineapples, pears and granola toppings to Inaugural guests, including the President, the Vice President and their families, just before their historic swearing-in. Schumer highlighted that this, in combination with Saratoga Spring Water, prominently features the Capital Region and Mohawk Valley on the national Inaugural stage.
“Fage Greek yogurt is what’s for breakfast at the Inaugural Ceremonies this year,” said Schumer. “Serving Fage before the Inaugural ceremonies shines a spotlight on one of New York’s biggest, and most delicious, dairy products. President Obama, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet will all get a taste of the delicious Greek yogurt New York State can produce, and I’m proud to showcase this fantastic company on this historic day.”
“We are truly honored to have our FAGE Total Greek yogurt be served at the Presidential Inauguration and thank Senator Schumer for suggesting us,” said Russell Evans, Director of Marketing for Fage USA. “We sincerely hope that the Obama and Biden Families and their guests enjoy it.”
The yogurt will be available throughout the Capitol in the hours leading up to the ceremony, and will be offered to members of both political parties in all three branches of governments, former Presidents and Vice Presidents, and other dignitaries.
Schumer was joined by Russell Evans, Director of Marketing for Fage USA, as well as Johnstown Mayor Sarah Slingerland. In June 2000, Fage established the subsidiary Fage USA Corporation to import and further promote FAGE Total Greek Yogurt in the U.S. After only four years of sales in the U.S., and with sales of over 2,000 tons of imported yogurt in 2004, Fage built a state-of-the-art production facility for FAGE Total in Johnstown, New York, and to manufacture their products in the United States.
In addition to Fage Greek yogurt being served before the Inaugural ceremonies, several New York products will be featured as part of the luncheon menu after the ceremonies. The third course is a Hudson Valley apple pie with sour cream ice cream, aged cheddar cheese, and honey. The apples are from Golden Harvest Orchards in Valatie, Columbia County. The honey will come from Seaway Trail Honey in Rochester, and Cooperstown Cheese Company will provide Jersey Girl Colby and Toma Celena cheeses. Crown Maple syrup of Dutchess County will be used in two different courses in the Inaugural Luncheon: the butternut squash puree used in the meal’s second course, featuring bison with red potato horseradish cake and a wild huckleberry reduction, and in the dessert. Two of the wines to be served along the first and second course also hail from New York. Three vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region, Anthony Road Winery, Fox Run Vineyards, and Red Newt Cellars, have collaborated to produce a Tierce 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling. A 2009 merlot from Bedell Cellars, from the North Fork of Long Island, will be served alongside the second course.
The luncheon menu reflects Schumer’s choice of a theme for the 57th Inaugural Ceremonies. “Faith in America’s Future” commemorates the United States’ perseverance and unity and marks the sesquicentennial year of the placement of the Statue of Freedom atop the new Capitol Dome in 1863. When the Civil War threatened to bring construction of the Dome to a halt, workers pressed onward, even without pay, until Congress approved additional funding to complete the Dome that would become a symbol of unity and democracy to the entire world. The menu features American agricultural products that have long been popular in our cuisine, but with an added modern touch. It is a celebration of American farms and agriculture, with a nod to their bright future and continued place in our culture.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) is responsible for the oversight and planning of the Presidential Inauguration and related ceremonies on the U.S. Capitol grounds.
The Joint Committee was authorized by S. Con. Res. 35, which passed the Senate on March 1, 2012, and the House on March 5th. Members of JCCIC are appointed by the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. In accordance with tradition, the Senate representatives on JCCIC are Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rules Committee Chairman Charles E. Schumer, and Rules Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander. The House members of JCCIC are Speaker John A. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
S. Con. Res. 35 established the date of the 2013 Inauguration as Monday, January 21, 2013, since January 20, 2013 falls on a Sunday. This is the seventh time in U.S. history that the constitutionally mandated Inauguration date has fallen on a Sunday. The last time was for President Ronald Reagan’s second Inauguration in 1985. When this occurs, the public ceremonies traditionally are held on Monday.