SPC holds annual fall meeting
SPC holds annual fall meeting
YOUNG HARRIS, GA -- Escaping into the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, here, at the Brasstown Valley Resort, attendees of the Southeast Produce Council's seventh annual fall conference enjoyed a weekend that featured an informative business improvement session conducted by industry expert Ron Pelger, an update on the California contaminated spinach issue, a memorial golf tournament, a fishing tournament, the election of a new SPC board, and plenty of socializing and opportunities for business development.
Mr. Pelger, a produce retailing expert and consultant and a regular columnist for The Produce News with his "In the Trenches" feature, presented "Straight Talk about Produce" in which he outlined many of the common problems in produce businesses from the growing end all the way to the retail end and business in general and proposed ways to overcome them. He advised a renewed focus on the employees and management in the front lines of the produce department, noting how that tier has the most immediate control over the success of the produce category.
He noted the proliferation of meetings in all businesses and criticized some of the inefficiencies that have resulted. Mr. Pelger said that there are approximately 11 million business meetings held in the United States every day and that executives attend an average of 62 meetings per month, which accounts for 31 working hours per attendee per month. He said that meetings tend to be too long and that the planned topic of a meeting is often forgotten as discussions meander to other business, resulting in little productivity.
His criticisms were coupled with solutions, however. He asserted that a clear agenda is crucial to keeping a meeting focused, productive and succinct. It is also important, he said, that attendees arrive fully prepared for the meeting, which is facilitated by a clear and precise agenda.
Another topic Mr. Pelger addressed was training. "Most [companies] consider it an expense rather than an investment," he said, noting the error of that approach. He also cautioned against inefficient or ineffective training, noting that between $5.6 billion and $16.8 billion is wasted by U.S. companies every year on ineffective training programs.
He closed his presentation with a discussion of his eight ways to win in the produce industry: communicate with customers; offer only the freshest, top- quality produce; deal with honest, reliable suppliers and retailers; be consistent (stick with a plan); price all product for a value; be a creative innovator; train employees; and get out in the trenches and see the business in action.
After Mr. Pelger spoke, Jerry Welcome, executive vice president of business development for the United Fresh Produce Association, gave an impromptu presentation on the status of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with spinach. He said that as of Sept. 29, 6,000 square miles of California land were forbidden from shipping spinach, but that he expected that spinach will soon be on retailers' shelves again. When that time comes, he said, "There is going to be quite a challenge communicating to our customers that this product is safe."
Mr. Welcome believes that if the U.S. Food & Drug Administration assures consumers that fresh spinach is safe, it will help rebuild that market considerably.
The seventh annual Ken Lanhardt Memorial Golf Tournament was held Sept. 30, as was a fishing tournament. The golf course at the Brasstown Valley Resort is quite challenging with complex grades due to the rugged mountain terrain. Participants were challenged by the interesting and beautiful course. At the president's dinner dance, the closing event of the weekend, the newly elected officers of the council were announced. Al Finch of Diversified Citrus Marketing is the new president, Tom Page of Supervalu Inc. is the new vice president, John Shuman of Shuman Produce Inc. is the new secretary and Andrew Scott of General Produce Co. is the new treasurer.
Newly elected board members who will serve a two-year term are Bobby Creel of L&M Cos., Tom Holbert of Wal-Mart Inc., Eddie Kirkpatrick of Mitchell Grocery Co., Daniel Klausner of Del Monte Fresh, David Sherrod of Apio Inc., Mike Tipton of KVAT/Food City Stores, Stanley Trout of Custom Pak and Dave Yeager of NewStar Fresh.
Board members with one year remaining on their two-year term are Bob Denomme of Bi-Lo Inc., Gary Boykin of Boykin Food Brokers, Howard McGlamory of McGlamory Marketing, Dan Vega of Fresh Point Tomato, Cheryl Hughes of U.S. Foodservice, Samantha Winters of the Florida Tomato Committee and Brad Mathis of Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable Co. Terry Vorhees will remain executive director.
Mr. Pelger, a produce retailing expert and consultant and a regular columnist for The Produce News with his "In the Trenches" feature, presented "Straight Talk about Produce" in which he outlined many of the common problems in produce businesses from the growing end all the way to the retail end and business in general and proposed ways to overcome them. He advised a renewed focus on the employees and management in the front lines of the produce department, noting how that tier has the most immediate control over the success of the produce category.
He noted the proliferation of meetings in all businesses and criticized some of the inefficiencies that have resulted. Mr. Pelger said that there are approximately 11 million business meetings held in the United States every day and that executives attend an average of 62 meetings per month, which accounts for 31 working hours per attendee per month. He said that meetings tend to be too long and that the planned topic of a meeting is often forgotten as discussions meander to other business, resulting in little productivity.
His criticisms were coupled with solutions, however. He asserted that a clear agenda is crucial to keeping a meeting focused, productive and succinct. It is also important, he said, that attendees arrive fully prepared for the meeting, which is facilitated by a clear and precise agenda.
Another topic Mr. Pelger addressed was training. "Most [companies] consider it an expense rather than an investment," he said, noting the error of that approach. He also cautioned against inefficient or ineffective training, noting that between $5.6 billion and $16.8 billion is wasted by U.S. companies every year on ineffective training programs.
He closed his presentation with a discussion of his eight ways to win in the produce industry: communicate with customers; offer only the freshest, top- quality produce; deal with honest, reliable suppliers and retailers; be consistent (stick with a plan); price all product for a value; be a creative innovator; train employees; and get out in the trenches and see the business in action.
After Mr. Pelger spoke, Jerry Welcome, executive vice president of business development for the United Fresh Produce Association, gave an impromptu presentation on the status of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with spinach. He said that as of Sept. 29, 6,000 square miles of California land were forbidden from shipping spinach, but that he expected that spinach will soon be on retailers' shelves again. When that time comes, he said, "There is going to be quite a challenge communicating to our customers that this product is safe."
Mr. Welcome believes that if the U.S. Food & Drug Administration assures consumers that fresh spinach is safe, it will help rebuild that market considerably.
The seventh annual Ken Lanhardt Memorial Golf Tournament was held Sept. 30, as was a fishing tournament. The golf course at the Brasstown Valley Resort is quite challenging with complex grades due to the rugged mountain terrain. Participants were challenged by the interesting and beautiful course. At the president's dinner dance, the closing event of the weekend, the newly elected officers of the council were announced. Al Finch of Diversified Citrus Marketing is the new president, Tom Page of Supervalu Inc. is the new vice president, John Shuman of Shuman Produce Inc. is the new secretary and Andrew Scott of General Produce Co. is the new treasurer.
Newly elected board members who will serve a two-year term are Bobby Creel of L&M Cos., Tom Holbert of Wal-Mart Inc., Eddie Kirkpatrick of Mitchell Grocery Co., Daniel Klausner of Del Monte Fresh, David Sherrod of Apio Inc., Mike Tipton of KVAT/Food City Stores, Stanley Trout of Custom Pak and Dave Yeager of NewStar Fresh.
Board members with one year remaining on their two-year term are Bob Denomme of Bi-Lo Inc., Gary Boykin of Boykin Food Brokers, Howard McGlamory of McGlamory Marketing, Dan Vega of Fresh Point Tomato, Cheryl Hughes of U.S. Foodservice, Samantha Winters of the Florida Tomato Committee and Brad Mathis of Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable Co. Terry Vorhees will remain executive director.
