A panel of the industry’s most successful retail produce managers will share their insights during a live webcast from the expo floor at United Fresh 2010. "Winning Retail Strategies: Secrets of the Retail Manager Award Winners" will be broadcast live via United’s dedicated video website, www.UnitedFresh.TV, Thursday, April 22, 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, and will showcase the merchandising and promotional efforts, community outreach and in-depth consumer knowledge of this year’s honorees in the 2010 United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, sponsored by Ready Pac Foods.

          "These produce managers represent such a wide range of talents, backgrounds and innovative viewpoints on what makes successful retail produce departments tick," said United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel. "UnitedFresh.TV will give industry members the opportunity to capitalize on their expertise, even if they can’t join us at United Fresh 2010 in Las Vegas."

          Featured panelists during the live webcast will include:

            Lynette DeClerck, Niemann Foods, Inc., Pana, Ill. – DeClerck and her team helped to develop and launch Niemann Foods’ signature line of Farmer’s Market Salsa, featuring three different flavor profiles.

            Judy Gauthier, Buy-Low Foods, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada – A three-time winner of the Canadian Master Merchandiser Award of Merit, Gauthier oversees the delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables to area seniors.

            Angela Hamilton, Al's Supermarkets, La Porte, Ind. – Natural talent combined with a formal education in art have enabled Hamilton to build creative displays, complete with banner signs, customer sampling and educational and nutritional content.  

Lannie W. Kiser Jr., Brookshire Grocery Co., Kaufman, Texas – To garner greater interest for his store’s produce offerings, Kiser served fresh guacamole at Kaufman’s "Taste of the Holidays" event, which was attended by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

            Ryan Lindner, Hy-Vee, Inc., Madison, Wis. – Lindner’s in-store "Trees of Savings," allow customers to feel like they are picking fruit from a real grove or orchard.

            Shawn Seely, Price Chopper Supermarkets/Golub Corp., Edwardsville, Pa. – A leader in cross-merchandising, Seely oversees a department with concurrent displays in the food court, deli, bakery, meat and grocery sections of the store.

            John Thut, Bel Air Markets; Raley's Family of Fine Stores, Sacramento, Calif. – Thut focuses on big, bold, beautiful displays a minimum of five feet wide by seven feet tall.

            Gary Viall, Hannaford Bros. Company, Colonie, N.Y. – With Hannaford’s Close to Home program, Viall has built great relationships with upstate New York growers and producers, making his store one of the top performers of locally-grown produce sales.

            Juronald Williams, Ord Community Commissary, Seaside, Calif. – Winner of multiple Defense Commissary Agency awards including the coveted Coin Awards for Exceptional Service, Excellence and Outstanding Performance.

            Willie L. Williams Jr., The Kroger Co., Englewood, Ohio – With a 92’ green rack to set every day, Williams’ hard work and pride in his produce department has some customers driving from over 40 miles just to shop in his store.

          For those unable to watch the event live, the broadcast will be available at UnitedFresh.TV beginning Friday, April 23. United Fresh.TV will also feature daily news coverage of other educational programs and events from the convention, including reports from the traceability and food safety demo centers on the show floor, interviews with major speakers, hot topics covering each sector of the supply chain, and new products, services and solutions on display at the show.  The association gratefully acknowledges the support of Chiquita Fresh in sponsoring UnitedFresh.TV at this year’s convention.

          "UnitedFresh.TV provides an opportunity to extend the value of the convention to industry members around the globe," said Stenzel.  "United is committed to using our annual convention to provide useful information to the entire industry, in addition to our attendees onsite. You can expect to see continuing innovation to advance our public policy issues through key speakers and programming, increase global education and networking through new media such as UnitedFresh.TV, and drive innovation in products and technologies through our new online virtual marketplace, AllThingsProduce.com."

          Following the convention, the association will continue to use UnitedFresh.TV to post video reports, public policy updates and educational material of interest to the industry.  Video reports will be highlighted on the United Fresh website and Inside United Fresh, the association’s weekly newsletter, as well as posted on the United Fresh YouTube channel and Facebook page.

          For more information on the live webcast or on UnitedFresh.TV, please contact United Fresh Vice President of Communications Ray Gilmer at 202-303-3400 ext. 425.