The Southeast Produce Council will honor one of its founding members, Tom Page, with its 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award during the council's annual convention and trade show later this winter in Florida.

The annual event, known as Southern Exposure, will take place from Feb. 27 to March 1 at the Caribe Royale Resort & Conference Center in Orlando, FL. This will be the 11th convention and trade show for the council, which was formed in 1999 and which has shown strong and steady growth ever since.Tom Page

Page, who retired from Supervalu on June 24, 2013, after a long and distinguished career spanning more than 40 years, will receive the award, sponsored by the council and The Produce News, on Saturday, March 1, during the keynote luncheon.

Bill Cowher, a former head coach of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and currently an analyst on the CBS television show "The NFL Today," will deliver the keynote address prior to the award presentation.

Page joins a distinguished group of industry leaders to be honored with the Southeast Produce Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. Joe McGee of L&M Cos. was the first to receive the award in 2008, followed by Ferdinand Duda of A. Duda & Sons in 2009; Peter Pero of Pero Family Farms in 2010; Tommy Irvin, Georgia's former commissioner of agriculture, in 2011; Reggie Griffin of The Kroger Co. in 2012; and Paul J. DiMare Sr. in 2013.

Asked how he felt when he got the word about his upcoming award from SPC Executive Director Terry Vorhees, Page told The Produce News, "It's very exciting. It's a little bit of a shock. There are so many other worthy people out there more deserving. But I'm very honored -- very honored."

He continued, "The past recipients have been tremendous people in the produce industry. Those are the guys who were real industry leaders."

Thomas Cebern Page II was born Aug. 28, 1944, in Evansville, IN. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in business in 1969 from Indiana State College (now Southeast Indiana University).

He married his high school sweetheart, Shirley, on Aug. 26, 1963. They have a daughter, Tina, and a son, Jeff. Tina and her husband have three children; Jeff and his wife have two children. Tina's oldest son, Tyler, and his wife are expecting their first child this February, so Tom and Shirley are eagerly looking forward to their new role as great-grandparents.

In addition to his rewarding career at Supervalu, Page was instrumental in another project, which has left an indelible mark on the fresh produce industry.

Back in 1999, he and five other forward-thinking industry executives -- William Watson, Ken Lanhardt, Cathy Carney, Heidi McIntyre and Terry Vorhees -- got together over lunch in Atlanta to discuss forming a new organization, one that would represent the interests and unique characteristics of the produce industry in the southeastern United States. That new organization would eventually be called the Southeast Produce Council.

Page has been closely involved with the council ever since. He has been show chairman of many of the council's expos, he served as SPC vice president, and in 2008-10 he served as the council's fifth president.

Even after retiring from Supervalu, he continues to stay involved in many of the council's programs, including the Southeast Training Education Program for Upcoming Produce Professionals, known commonly as STEP-UPP.

The council surprised Page at its 2013 fall conference in Myrtle Beach, SC, when it announced that for all he has meant to the Southeast Produce Council, its annual golf tournament at Southern Exposure would forever be known as the "Tom Page Golf Classic at Southern Exposure."

"I first met Tom around 1994 when I was the southeastern merchandising guy for the California Tree Fruit Agreement," Vorhees told The Produce News. "He was actually the first person I spoke to about putting together" an organization in the Southeast.

While all of the past recipients of the council's Lifetime Achievement Award have been special in their own right, Vorhees said that the selection of Page is "especially personal" to him.

"Tom's a good man, not only because of his work with the council, but as a friend," said Vorhees. "Sometimes you need someone to talk to -- and Tom's always been there."