LAUREL, Miss. (June 6, 2008) – Employees at Wayne Farms LLC’s Laurel facility celebrated National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week recently by hosting a luncheon for more than 150 local emergency service personnel including paramedics and members of local fire and police departments. EMS Week in Laurel was officially announced at the event in the form of a proclamation presented to Bo Gieger, Wayne Farms safety coordinator, by Jerome White, Jones County Board of Supervisors.

“EMS workers literally hold our lives in their hands every day,” said Charlie Peacock, Laurel complex manager. “Hosting this cookout every year during EMS Week is just a small way that our company can say ‘thank you’ to the wonderful professionals who do so much for the citizens and businesses in this area.”

George Carmichael, Laurel city councilman and Marta Williams, Jones County Emergency Operations assistant director, attended the May 21 event and expressed the community’s gratitude for the critical work of emergency medical service providers. The luncheon also included entertainment by the musical group “In Faith” and the presentation of the colors by Jones County Sherriff’s department.

National Emergency Medical Services Week is celebrated annually in communities across the country to show appreciation for EMS providers. The theme of the 2008 EMS Week was “Your Life is Our Mission,” chosen to recognize the commitment that emergency medical personnel make to the communities they serve.

The Laurel facility has been owned and operated by Wayne Farms since 1957 and consists of a 89,452 square-foot fresh processing facility with a separate feed mill and hatchery. The facility employs more than 800 people from Laurel and the surrounding communities.

About Wayne Farms LLC

Wayne Farms LLC is the fifth-largest vertically integrated poultry producer in the United States with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. A subsidiary of ContiGroup Companies, Inc., Wayne Farms LLC owns and operates 13 fresh and further-processed facilities throughout the Southeast, produces more than 1 billion pounds of poultry products each year, and employs more than 9,200 individuals.