United Fresh 2009 was one for the ages, bringing almost 5,000 of the produce industry's best and brightest to Las Vegas to discover the latest in produce innovation, fresh meals and technology solutions.
Before we look ahead to United Fresh 2010, April 20-23 at the Sands MegaCenter in Las Vegas, let's take a minute to look back on what you may have missed at United Fresh 2009!
Kicking off the first official day of United Fresh 2009 in fine form during Wednesday's Opening Breakfast General Session, United Fresh announced a strategic partnership with Bayer CropScience that will generously provide $1.1 million to fund the new Center for Global Produce Sustainability, helping our industry develop ways to ensure a healthy and prosperous future.
In a first for United Fresh, we left the lights on for the first-ever Show Floor Happy Hour. Attendees and exhibitors mingled among the booths, talking about business and networking as we wrapped up our first full day.
United Fresh 2009 Show Floor Happy Hour
At the United Fresh Business Marketplace on Friday, United Vice President of Convention and Industry Relations John Toner announced the winners of the inaugural New Product Awards, voted on by attendees throughout the show and recognizing both ingenuity and creativity in new processes and technology.
Spread across all three days on the trade show floor, FreshTech and Fresh Marketplace Learning Centers helped educate attendees on topics ranging from new product trends to insights from foodservice experts. These mini-workshops brought the world-class United Fresh education right to the show floor.
Among the crown jewels of United Fresh 2009 was the all-new Traceability Demo Center where traceability solutions providers were able to answer questions from attendees in an easily approachable setting. Attendees also had the opportunity to offer comments and raise concerns during a series of roundtable discussions with industry leaders on everything from traceability requirements to the latest in best practices.
In Las Vegas, a little star power never hurts, and United Fresh 2009 was no exception. During Wednesday's Opening Breakfast General Session, attendees and exhibitors were invited inside one of the most powerful financial minds of our time. Forbes CEO and Editor in Chief Steve Forbes keynoted the breakfast, giving attendees an optimistic forecast on the current economic landscape, and telling attendees that, upon getting the federal government back on track, our current situation would simply be a "bad dream" from which we will wake sooner than expected.
Steve Forbes presents, "How Capitalism Will Save Us"
After Forbes' presentation, our friends at The Packer presented former United Chairman, board member and long-time industry advocate Al Vangelos with the Man for All Seasons Award, recognizing decades of dedicated service to our industry.
Throughout the show, a full slate of educational workshops provided attendees with valuable background on a whole host of pressing issues. Digging into everything from food safety investigations to finding growth in the foodservice sector, this year's educational workshops delivered know-how that will translate to tangible results for attendees.
During Wednesday's Luncheon General Session, United Fresh and Harris Interactive presented a rare look inside the consumer mind, delving into current events and issues and their effects on consumer purchasing patterns with United's Issues Scan 2009. This valuable resource was available for purchase at the show and can still be downloaded here.
The most exciting part of the Session however was the graduation of the 14th class of United's prestigious Produce Industry Leadership Program. Attendees had the opportunity to honor this next generation of produce leaders as they move forward to change and better our industry.
Thursday morning was highlighted by individual Supply Chain Super Sessions. Designed by the members of the United Fresh Market Segment Boards, the meetings allowed attendees to address issues specific to their particular industry sector, ask questions, and receive feedback directly from elected leadership on United's Grower-Shipper, Fresh-Cut Processor, Retail-Foodservice, and Wholesaler-Distributor Market Segment Boards.
United Fresh 2009 presentations are offered free of charge to members only. Convention attendees, who are not members, can obtain copies free of charge by contacting Julie Jacocks at 202-303-3400, ext 405.
United Fresh 2009 teed off Tuesday morning with the annual Golf Tournament to benefit the United Fresh Research & Education Foundation. The tournament, sponsored by the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association, was held at the breathtaking Siena Golf Club.
Then it was off to TAO Beach, the newest, hottest club on the Strip for the Viva Las Vegas Opening Party. Networking, casual cocktails and fun highlighted the evening as thousands of attendees readied for a full day of work today.
Before turning in, though, many attendees and exhibitors showed their support for United's work on Capitol Hill at the Striking it Rich in Vegas Bowling Tournament to benefit the United FreshPAC.
An unforgettable Wednesday at the show ended with the Reception Honoring Women in Produce, keynoted by 2009 honoree Heather Shavey of Costco Wholesale. Camaraderie and networking highlighted the 16th edition of this great event.
On Thursday night, the annual Chairman's Reception and Award Banquet capped off an unforgettable Vegas experience by recognizing the best and brightest in both foodservice and retail. Honored at the banquet were the recipients of the Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards, sponsored by Pro*Act, and the Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, sponsored by Ready Pac. We even gave away $25,000 to one lucky attendee!
Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Recipients
2009 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Fine Dining – Chef George Mavrothalassitis, Chef/Owner, Chef Mavro, Honolulu, Hawaii Casual & Family Dining – Chef William Fuller, Corporate Chef, big Burrito Restaurant Group, Pittsburgh, Pa. Quick Service - William "Woody" Faulk, Vice President of Brand Development; Shona Jonson, Sr. Manager of Menu Development and the entire Chick-fil-A Menu Development Team, Chick-fil-A, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. Business in Industry & Colleges – Chef Glenn Pruden, CEC, Executive Chef/Assistant Director University Dining, University of Richmond, Richmond, Va. Hotels & Healthcare – Chef Miles McMath, CEC, Senior Executive Chef, Morrison Specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn.
Retail Produce Manager Award Recipients
2009 Retail Produce Manager Awards Richard Bixler, Brookshire Grocery Co., Sweetwater, TX Fernando Bovadilla, Nob Hill Foods, Raley's Family of Fine Stores, Mountain View, CA Elden Cave, Food Lion, LLC, Dobson, NC Malinda Cleveland, Bashas' Dine' Market, Window Rock, AZ Nan Day, NAS Lemoore Commissary, Lemoore, CA Ronald Flosi, Jewel-Osco, Chicago, IL Uziel Galvez, Safeway Stores, Inc., Hood River, OR Humberto Gonzales, Ralphs, Los Angeles, CA Dustin Haney, Hy-Vee, Inc., Ankeny, IA Robert Hewett, Raley's Family of Fine Stores, Ukiah, CA Chris Hood, Brookshire Grocery Co., Tyler, TX Greg Hurst, Vons, San Diego, CA Ron Inatomi, Gelson's Market, Newport Beach, CA Paula Lucas, Colemans Food Centre, Stephenville, Newfoundland, Canada Jeff Mallory, Hy-Vee, Inc., Olathe, KS Robert Oare, The Kroger Co., Mount Vernon, OH Frank Owens, Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., Fairhope, AL Lequitte Perry, Food City, Louisa, KY Abraham Ramirez, Raley's Family of Fine Stores, Benicia, CA Donald Rich, Price Chopper Supermarkets/Golub Corp., Burlington, VT John Smith, Brookshire Grocery Co., Ruston, LA George Tataris, Dominick's, Park Ridge, IL Scott Theisen, Blue Goose Market, St. Charles, IL Timothy Tremblay, Hannaford Bros. Company, Scarborough, ME Brett Warfield, Save Mart, Sonora, CA
In a first for United Fresh, the annual convention and expo was followed by the all-new Global Conference on Produce Food Safety Standards, designed to give an inside, uncomplicated look at the process of third-party auditing. The Global Conference brought together top food safety minds from the private and public sectors including representatives from USDA, FDA, British Retail Consortium and others. United Fresh was proud to host this all-important first gathering of what we hope will become an industry fixture.
Global Conference on Produce Food Safety Standards
