Dave Koontz to Receive WDPA President’s Award
Association Recognizes Numerous Contributions of an Industry Stalwart
The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) today announced that Dave Koontz will receive the 2026 President’s Award, the association’s highest honor recognizing exceptional dedication to Wisconsin’s dairy industry and longstanding service to WDPA.
“Dave represents the very best of Wisconsin’s dairy community,” said WDPA Executive Director Phil Plourd. “His storied career, passion for the industry, and careful stewardship of the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Products contest make him an obvious and outstanding choice for this year’s President’s Award.”
Raised in Cochrane, Wisconsin, Koontz built his career on the work ethic shaped in his younger days. After moving to Milwaukee at 16, he enrolled at UW–Madison while working part‑time, eventually earning his Food Science degree in 1981.
Koontz has spent 45 years in the dairy industry, beginning with Dean Foods and advancing through multiple QA, production, and plant leadership roles across the Midwest. He later brought his expertise to Swiss Valley Farms and then to Degussa, Cargill, and DSM, expanding into technical service and sales. Since 2017, he has served as Technical Sales & Service Manager for Vivolac Cultures Corporation, supporting Grade A cultured dairy products.
A longtime supporter of WDPA, Koontz plays a key role in the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Products Contest, dedicating significant time each year to organizing entries, coordinating judging, and ensuring donated products reach MATC students and local food pantries.
Koontz and his wife, Terry, married in 1983 and have four children and six grandchildren. A lifelong Wisconsin sports fan and Badger football season‑ticket holder since 1972, he also enjoys woodworking and golf — often, as he jokes, “mostly looking for my lost golf balls in the woods.”
Koontz will be formally recognized at the 2026 WDPA Dairy Symposium and Annual Meeting, held July 27–28 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
