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Silent Auction
MGA Chairman Warren
Disch, SUPERVALUE, MGA Director John Busch and his wife
Josephine, Busch's Inc., check out the great Silent
Auction items.
IGA's Bill and Carol Overman chat with Great North Foods
Ron Baxter before heading in to the Silent auction to
place a few winning bids.
Winning Bidders
Ellen Antaya
Tom Antaya
Tim Bartkowiak
Ron Baxter
Rick Brown
Brad Busch
John Busch
Kay Bylenga
Mark Castillo
Wendy DeYoung
Bob Edgell
Mike Feutz
Jim Forsberg
Cindy Gerlach
Gary Gerlach
Dale Grooters
Debbie Hall
Goeff Hansen
Marv Imus
Lisa Landis
Brent Larson
Judy Lemieur
Tammy McDonough
Carol Overman
Steve Parker
Janice Riggsby
Joe Risdon
Sue Robinson
Tom Robinson
Ian Smith
Mike Soboleski
Frank VanderMeer
Lisa VanGilder
Jill Weishaupt
Jo Wood
We
raised more than $11,000 to support MGA legislative
education programs. Thank you for your support!
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Fall Golf Classic
Winning Team:
(left to right)
Ron Dunbar, Kraft Foods; Tom Berg and Jim Gohsman,
Spartan Stores; and Steve Parker, TOMRA (not pictured).
Score: 9-under par 63; 2 strokes better than
2nd Place Team:
Ron Baxter & Pete Bilitzke, Great North Foods; Bill
Overman; IGA, Inc., and Russ Hendricks, Preferred
Inventory Service.
Longest Drive:
Ron Dunbar
Closest to the Pin:
Rob Davis
Longest Putt Made:
Pat Weslow
Tim Barber and Kevin Young of Village Markets
in Elk Rapids and Rapid City get ready to play the Jack
Nicklaus designed course, The Bear, often described as
one of the toughest courses in the Midwest.
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2007 Silent Auction
Donors
Anheuser-Busch
Arctic Glacier Prem Ice
Busch’s, Inc.
Crystal Mountain Resort
Encore Floral Marketing
Grand Hotel
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
Heeren Bros. Produce
Martin’s Super Markets
McDonough’s Market
Michigan Sugar Co.
Nash Finch Company
Oleson’s Food Stores
Orchard Markets
Paramount Coffee Co.
Rick Drieborg &
John Massey
of Henry A. Fox Sales
Shanty Creek Resort
Spartan Stores, Inc.
Supervalu
Central Region
The Johnston Group
Thomas V. Robinson CPA, PLC
TOMRA Michigan
Tyler Refrigeration
UBCR
VG’s Food Centers
Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth
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Neither Rain nor
Wind Dampen MGA's 2007 Annual Conference at Grand
Traverse Resort
It was
perfect weather for doing the business of the 109th
Annual Michigan Grocers Conference – absorbing lessons from the
speakers, viewing new products and services, exchanging ideas
and information …in other words, lousy weather for doing
anything outdoors.
The
Association’s Sept. 9-11 conference at Grand Traverse Resort in
Traverse City achieved all of the planners’ objectives,
including an increase in retailer attendance, transition to a
new vendor exhibit format, and a successful return to the site
of so many MGA conventions in the 1980s and '90s.
“I felt this
year was one of the best conventions that I can remember in a
long time,” said Gary Gerlach, president of Orchard
Markets-Spring Lake and a member of MGA’s convention committee.
“Networking is very important; the networking with vendors is
and should remain a key part of the program. The big push for
2008 is getting even more independent retailers signed-up. Too
many are missing a great opportunity.”
From
fascinating Nielsen-Spectra shopper behavior data to counsel on
positioning your business for the growing number of
health-conscious consumers; and from vital information about
Organized Retail Crime to engaging discussions with state
government officials on liquor licensing, pending Food Law
updates, and the new Michigan Business Tax, the conference
general sessions were packed full of useful and hard-to-get
information.
When
the work was done, MGA’s intrepid golfers and bocce players
didn’t let the cool and wet weather shutdown their outdoor
activities. Both the Bocce Tournament and Fall Golf Classic
were interrupted, but in the end players persevered. At some
point the rain was so intense that it apparently melted MGA’s
Lisa Reibsome, who didn’t take a single photo during the golf
outing. Those events were only a prelude to rain and wind that
pelted the tent outside Shady Lane Cellars’ tasting room, site
of Tuesday evening’s Vineyard Dinner on the Leelanau Peninsula.
Despite the weather, or maybe because of it,
conference-goers turned the occasion into a festive send-off for
the 2007 MGA conference.
“I want to
thank all who attended and helped to make this year’s event so
special,” said MGA president Linda Gobler. “And
on behalf of the entire membership, a heartfelt thanks to our
Sponsors and silent auction supporters. We really couldn’t do it
without them.”
Business
Building
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Michigan Liquor Control
Commissioner Don Weatherspoon talked with and answered
questions from MGA members during Beakfast with the
Regulators. |
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The conference General
Sessions were packed full with people, useful insights and
practical information that can be hard to come by. |
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MGA Volunteer Jill
Weishaupt helps Dale Hollandsworth of Kroger connect with
Michigan Department of Agriculture's Jerry Wojtala. |
Manufacturer Super Sessions
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The team from Kraft
Foods shared information about new products and market
plans with retailers and wholesalers. (l to r) Jim
Hansen, Jean Olszewski, Dan Kowatch, Marcia Lewis, Bob
Utter and Ron Dunbar. |
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Vineyard Dinner at
Shady Lane Cellars
Everyone had a fabulous time at the
Vineyard Dinner on Leelanau Peninsula.
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From VG's: Shirley
VanGilder flanked by Dave and Lisa Landis, Lisa VanGilder,
Bill Ogle and Nick Lenzi. |
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(l to r) Lisa and D.J.
Oleson, Oleson's Food Stores & Bruce & Bernie Mulder,
Kellog Snacks.
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| From Duthler's Family Foods
(l to r): Ian Smith, Dave and Shari Duthler, and Amy
Smith |
 MGA Members
can now download the complete deck of Todd Hale's
conference presentation on Monday, Sept. 10 in
Traverse City. Nielsen-Spectra's Senior Vice
President-Consumer & Shopper Insights. Hale
shared valuable consumer panel data to help
retailers uncover WHO shops WHERE, WHY, and HOW
often. This is a large
PowerPoint file
(2296 KB). Or a compressed
WinZip file
(1780 KB). You must have the
WinZip
software to extract.
See You
Next Year at Crystal Mountain Resort
September 14-16, 2008
  
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Michigan's Supplier Showcase
Paramount Coffee's Rob Davis tells Don
Bastianello, with Angeli Foods, about the company
including the latest news that Paramount has created
three unique brands to raise awareness and money for
several important causes.
Alan Hartline, Spartan Stores, talks
with Bill Wernet and Rich Beishuizen, Country Fresh,
at the Supplier Showcase.
Matt Birbeck, with MSU's Product
Center, shows The Johnston Group's Tom Johnston some
of the many products the center has helped bring to
market
Big Top Market's
Wendy and Steve DeYoung exchange information with Dan
Bischoff of Dawn Food Products.
Tom Robinson of
Northern Markets LLC talks with Kate Smith of Heeren
Brothers Produce about the company's products and
services.
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Bocce Tournament
Considering the rain and 40 mph
wind gusts, the bocce tournament drew a pretty good
crowd. We were lucky to have moments where the
sun broke through, but the die-hard bocce players
didn't seem to mind the crazy weather.
Two-Time Defending Champions Shane
Smith and Tom Baumann, Ric's Food Centers, received
the "Aunt Millie's Cup from Tim Baumann, Sr. VP of
Sales for Aunt Millie's.
However, the champions need "overtime"
to defeat 2nd Place Winners Jim and Donna Hector
of Aunt Millie's.
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Thank You 2007
Conference Sponsors
Diamond
&
Platinum Sponsors
*Aflac
Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Michigan
*Country
Fresh
Kellogg’s
*Kraft
Foods
Nash Finch Company
Pepsi Bottling of Michigan
Spartan Stores
Supervalu-Central Region
Gold Sponsors
*Anheuser-Busch
*Arctic Glacier Premium Ice
*Aunt Millie’s Bakeries
Cadbury Schwepps
*Encore Floral Marketing
Great North Foods
*Heeren
Bros. Produce
Lipari Foods
Michigan Sugar Company
*Prairie
Farms Dairy
Smith-Peabody-Stiles
and
Accident Fund Insurance
*Star Truck Rental
Universal Insurance Services
Silver Sponsors
Acosta Sales
&
Marketing
BUNZL Michigan
*The Campbell Group
Crossmark Sales Agency
*Damon
Industries
*Dawn
Foods
*Envirochemical
*Grand Traverse Distillery
Grocery Manufacturers Association
*Hain-Celestial
Group-Snack Division
Labatt USA
*Michigan Potato Industry Commission
Miller Brewing Company
*Paramount Coffee
REI Hussmann Refrigeration
*Tyler Refrigeration
United Dairy Industry of Michigan
Also:
Oleson’s Food
Stores
and
Superior Seafoods
*Showcase Exhibitors
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