At this year’s SNAXPO in Dallas, March 1-4, President George W. Bush discussed his experiences as president and the years after in a conversation that, for many in the audience, was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Mark Singleton, the Snack Food Association’s (SFA) incoming chairman and vice president of sales and marketing at Rudolph Foods Co. Inc., Lima, Ohio, moderated the program, asking questions that prompted candid remarks from Bush about the 9/11 crisis and other events.

Bush was invited to the stage by Craig Hatfield of Bryce Corp., sponsor of the event with Heat and Control/Ishida Co. Ltd. and Rudolph Foods.

“I want to thank you for letting me come and visit with you,” said Bush. “My area of expertise is what it’s like to be president. And how great it is to be from Texas.”

The former president’s answers to Singleton’s questions included the activities at the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University and Bush’s experiences in context with the library, which promotes what the president said “are the values that made us great that need to be defended.”

Attendees had much to say about the event. “I thank President Bush on behalf of SFA,” said outgoing SFA chairman William “Chip” Mann II, co-owner of Pretzels Inc., Bluffton, Ind. “What a wonderful way to start the last day of SNAXPO before we head to the floor.”