Irving and McDonald to be Inducted into the Frozen Food Hall of Fame
The Distinguished Order of Zerocrats have selected Herbert Irving, Sysco Corp. and C. Alan McDonald, Nestle USA as the 2009 inductees into the Frozen Food Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at the Grand Awards Banquet at the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention, October 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. See the press release for more information.

June Dairy Month Golden Penguin Deadline Approaching
Don’t miss your chance to win the prestigious Golden Penguin Award for excellence in merchandising during June Dairy Month. The deadline for entering is August 11, 2009. For more information, see the Golden Penguin rules and entry form.

Summer Favorites Ice Cream & Novelties Display Contest Entries Due
The Summer Favorites Display Contest offers another opportunity to compete for the Golden Penguin Award. Awards will be given for the best displays in each of six geographic regions. Entries are due at NFRA by August 14, 2009. See the rules and entry form for more details.

Association Annual Business Meeting Announcement
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association is pleased to extend an invitation to all NFRA members for the 65^th Annual Membership Meeting & Luncheon. Pursuant to Article II, Sections 3 & 4 of the bylaws of the Association, the Annual Meeting will be held during the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention on Monday, October 19, 2009 in Washington, DC.

The Annual Meeting will begin with a luncheon at 12:00 noon in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. All members of NFRA are full voting members and are eligible to vote during this Annual Meeting. The senior or designated officer at each NFRA member company represented at the Annual Meeting shall cast his/her company’s official vote.

Bring Cool Food for Kids to the Frozen Aisles in October
As children are learning about the benefits of frozen foods and maintaining a healthy lifestyle through NFRA’s educational outreach program, you can bring the same Cool Food for Kids message in-store. Cool Food for Kids point of sale is available to decorate the aisles and draw consumers in to see the quality and convenience that frozen foods have to offer. NFRA will launch the Cool Food for Kids Sweepstakes on the EasyHomeMeals.com website to create even more excitement around the promotion. Complete promotional details can be found in the Cool Food for Kids Idea Book.

Convention Continuing to Grow in 2009
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention is the place to meet, with over 970 people already registered – 10% more than last year. Already 130 retailers have registered and will be available to meet with Convention delegates. Rooms at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel are almost sold out. So register now to be in the Convention Headquarters hotel. The deadline to be in the next pre-registration list, used by delegates to schedule business appointments, is August 14.

2010 March Frozen Food Month National FSI Program
Plans are already underway for another big promotion in March 2010. The promotion will include a 3-page FSI, a consumer sweepstakes, themed point of sale materials and the Golden Penguin competition. NFRA is now taking commitments from brands that want to participate in the FSI. This program offers national circulation and couponing opportunities at a huge savings over placing your own FSI. See the brochure and commitment form for complete details.

NFRA Welcomes Our Newest Members
Please welcome the companies listed below who have met the qualifications of membership and have joined the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.

MANUFACTURERS

AgroFarma, Inc.
www.chobani.com  

Bays English Muffin Corporation
www.bays.com  

Fage USA Dairy Industry, Inc.
www.fageusa.com  

National Choice Bakery
(651) 554-0200

Recent Certificate of Excellence Recipients
The Certificate of Excellence, the highest operational award in the frozen and refrigerated foods industry, signifies that a facility conforms to the highest industry and government standards, and strictly adheres to the Code of Recommended Practices for the handling and merchandising of frozen and refrigerated foods.

United States Cold Storage
1021 E. Walnut
Tulare, CA 93274  

United States Cold Storage
1102 North Park Drive
Hazelton, PA 18202

Lakeside Foods announced the following personnel changes: Bruce “Jake” Jacobson has been named Vice President, Operations at Lakeside Foods’ Corporate Office. Jacobson joined Lakeside in 1988 as General Manager, Contract Operations in Plainview, MN. He was most recently Director of Operations at the Belgium, WI facility. Tara Ansorge has been named Cost Accounting Associate. Prior to joining Lakeside, Ansorge was a student at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Juan Zaragoza has been promoted to Human Resources Manager. Zaragoza joined Owatonna’s HR Department in 2004 and was promoted to Assistant HR Manager before being promoted to Human Resources Manager. Becky Sabelko has been promoted to Quality Assurance Manager. Prior to joining Lakeside, Sabelko worked for Nestle Nutrition.

Choptank Transport has been recognized as the Family Owned Small Business of the Year by Maryland’s Small Business Week Awards. Choptank Transport is a full-service freight management company specializing in refrigerated and van transportation. Their headquarters is located in Preston, MD with 23 locations nationwide. For more information: www.choptanktransport.com  

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Retailer recently announced the appointment of Michael Duff as Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. Duff will be responsible for all aspects of the publication’s editorial product for both the printed magazine and the weekly electronic newsletter The Fridge. Prior to joining BNP Media, Duff was Senior Editor of Lebhar-Friedman’s Retailing Today and Executive Editor of Food Retailing. Mike will be working out of his Kew Gardens, NY home office. He can be reached at 718-441-2154 or duffm@bnpmedia.com  

VersaCold International Corporation, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Hf. Eimskipafélag Íslands announced today that Eimskip has successfully completed a sale of a 49% interest in Eimskip Tango ehf, the direct parent of Versacold to The Yucaipa Companies, LLC. Yucaipa also acquired an option for the remaining 51% interest in Tango. The acquisition of VersaCold fits well within Yucaipa’s long term strategy to build a worldwide network of temperature controlled transportation and warehousing services. Yucaipa is the owner of Americold RealtyTrust, the largest public refrigerated warehouse operator in the United States. The VersaCold facilities are complimentary to Americold’s facilities, although VersaCold and Americold will operate independently, each with separate and distinct boards. For more information: www.versacold.com

Keep the industry updated about news and staff promotions at your company. NFRA will publish your company highlights monthly in the NFRA Update. Send your company news to us at info@nfraweb.org; via fax to 717-657-9862; or via mail to NFRA, 4755 Linglestown Rd., Suite 300, Harrisburg, PA 17112.