Alabama Grocers Association Honors Industry Standouts

The Alabama Grocers Association held its annual convention earlier this week at the Sandestin in Destin, Fla. A number of awards were presented, including the 2012 Spirit of America Award, which went to Gerry Totoritis, president and CEO of Associated Grocers of the South.

Totoritis, who accepted the award from Tom Wenning of the National Grocers Association, recently announced his upcoming retirement from AG of the South. He has led the Birmingham-based cooperative for the past 12 years. He will retire Aug. 30.

Among the other awards presented during the convention:

Spirit of Alabama Award

Patrick McWhorter of The McWhorter Group

This award, presented by Alabama Grocers Association President Ellie Smotherman Taylor, was given in honor of McWhorter’s accomplishments to support the mission of the association by promoting the growth and success of the food industry by representing its members before legislative and regulatory bodies.

McWhorter has a vast background in politics and local home grown products. He grew up in Kentucky in the family farm store and farming operation and was heavily involved in the tobacco business. In Kentucky he held numerous political positions including being CEA in the Department for Local Government under Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. and Assistant Insurance Commissioner under Gov. Martha Layne Collins.

In June 1989, he went to work for The Tobacco Institute and was regional director sharing responsibility for all government relations on behalf of 13 major tobacco companies in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. After the Master Settlement Agreement, The Tobacco Institute was disbanded and he came to Montgomery as a legislative consultant. He has served under six governors including Guy Hunt, Jim Folsom, Fob James, Don Siegelman, Bob Riley and current governor, Robert Bentley. He has been the legislative consultant to the Alabama Grocers Association since 1993.

The Alabama Grocers Association Spirit of Alabama Award was established in 2006 to honor those that support the association and have commitment to the state of Alabama food industry.

 Broker of the Year Award

Jeff Forman, Advantage Sales and Marketing

Jeff Forman of Advantage Sales and Marketing was presented with the Alabama Grocers Association Broker of the Year Award.

The award, presented by Taylor and Harold Garrett, association chairman, was given in recognition of Forman’s outstanding service and devotion to the Alabama Grocers Association and the grocery industry in the state of Alabama.

Forman started his career with Presto Products and moved from his hometown in Wisconsin to Dallas, Texas, to open its district office. He held various positions with Presto Products both in Dallas and in Atlanta, Ga. In 1980, he joined Welch Foods as its regional sales manager and in 1982 he moved into the food brokerage business in Oklahoma City as partner/GM of McVey-Henley Co.

In 1987, he and his wife Nancy moved to Birmingham to work for Marketing Specialists, which later became the Budd Mayer Co. and is now Advantage Sales and Marketing. Forman has held various positions with Advantage and has served the last 12 years as the sales manager in Alabama.

Forman is past president of the Food Sales Executive Club of Alabama and currently serves on the Alabama Grocers Association Board of Directors.

The Alabama Grocers Association Broker of the Year Award was established in 1996 to honor those that support the association and have commitment to the state of Alabama food industry.

Wholesaler of the Year

Frank D’Amico III, BTC Wholesale Distributors

Frank D’Amico III of BTC Wholesale Distributors was presented with the Alabama Grocers Association Wholesaler of the Year Award.

The award was presented by Taylor and Garrett and given to D’Amico in recognition of his outstanding service and devotion to the Alabama Grocers Association and the grocery industry in the state of Alabama.

D’Amico graduated from the University of Alabama in 1979 and in the same year joined BTC Wholesale Inc. BTC is a family owned business that was started in 1927 and is a wholesale distributor that services grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores with items such as cigarettes, candy, tobacco, groceries and snacks. It services customers in nine states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The company is headquartered in Shelby County and employs 110 people. During D’Amico’s 33 years with the company he has held many positions including sales representative, sales manager, VP of sales, EVP and currently serves as president.

D’Amico has served as president of the Alabama Wholesale Distributors Association and currently serves as treasurer. He also currently serves on the board of the Alabama Grocers Association and the Petroleum and Convenience Marketers Association. He is a member of the University of Alabama Alumni Association Commerce Executive Society and recently has been nominated to the University of Alabama Board of Visitors. In addition, D’Amico is vice chairman of the Regions Tradition, which has been an annual event in Birmingham for 21 years. He also is a founding board member of the Vestavia Hills School Foundation and is vice president of the Vestavia Hills Athletic Association.

The Alabama Grocers Association Wholesaler of the Year Award was established in 1996 to honor those who support the association and have commitment to the state of Alabama food industry.

Manufacturer of the Year

Phillip Ray, Wells Blue Bunny Dairy

Phillip Ray, Wells Blue Bunny Dairy, was presented with the Alabama Grocers Association Manufacturer of the Year Award.

The award was presented by Taylor and Garrett and given to Ray in recognition of his outstanding service and devotion to the Alabama Grocers Association and the grocery industry in the state of Alabama.

Ray has spent his entire career in the grocery industry. In the fall of 1962, at the age of 15, he starting working at Hills Grocery in Gardendale as a grocery bagger, produce clerk and stocker making 75 cents per hour. Winn-Dixie acquired Hills and he worked there until graduation from Mortimer Jordan High School in 1965. He started Jacksonville State University in the fall of 1965 and starting working at Western Supermarket in Gardendale until his graduation in 1970.

Following college, he served as a staff sergeant in the Alabama Army National Guard and began his early career at General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Ed Mollison Chevrolet. In 1973, he began working with Economic Laboratory Inc. as a sales representative and was later promoted to Alabama district manager. During his 21-year career with Ecolab/Benckiser Consumer Products, he received the District Manager of the Year Award several times. In addition, he was the recipient of the “Make a Difference Award” from Benckiser Consumer Products.

In 1995, he joined Wells Dairy as a sales representative for the Birmingham market. In 1996, he was promoted to Alabama/Georgia regional manager and in 1993 was promoted to Southeastern regional manager. In 2004, he received the Gallup Regional Manager of the Year Award and was the winner of Southeast Presidents Club in 2007. He managed the sales team that gained distribution for Wells in the following accounts: Food Lion, Harris Teeter, MDI, Ingles, Lowes Foods, Associated Grocers of the South, Mitchell Grocery, Supervalu, Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing, Piggly Wiggly Charleson, K-VAT, Winn-Dixie, Harvey’s, C&S Birmingham and Ira Higdon Grocery.

The Alabama Grocers Association Manufacturer of the Year Award was established in 1996 to honor those that support the Association and have commitment to the state of Alabama food industry.

Retailer of the Year Award

Robbie Norman, Norman Foods

Robbie Norman of Norman Foods was recognized as the Alabama Grocers Association Retailer of the Year. This award was given in recognition of Norman’s outstanding service and devotion to the Alabama Grocers Association and the grocery industry in the state of Alabama.

Norman began his retail career at age 18 working at Wyatts Supermarket in Ramer, Ala., while attending Troy State University. While at Wyatts, he learned a great deal about the grocery business, managing the front end of the store, and developed a passion for the retail business. 

After graduating from Troy State in 1993 with a degree in accounting, he sent on to work for the grocery warehouse Scrivner. Three years later after more knowledge of the accounting of grocery stores he went to work for Taylor Chandler in Montgomery where he learned in depth about retail grocery accounts and was able to develop relationships with independent grocery store retailers. 

After these years of training and gaining more experience he was looking forward to opening a store of his own and got that chance in Thomasville, Ala., when a landlord needed a tenant and was interested in helping someone young and eager be in the grocery business.

Norman opened his first store in Thomasville on Nov. 20, 2000. He spent many hours in the stores—generally staying at the store past 9 p.m., closing the store himself. After four years of continually learning more and developing a system that worked, he opened a second stores in Waynesboro, Miss. Since then he has opened four stores, including the Millbrook Food Outlet in Prattville. 

The Alabama Grocers Association Retailer of the Year Award was established in 1996 to honor those that support the association and have commitment to the state of Alabama food industry.

The Alabama Grocers Association is a state trade association representing the grocery retail industry since 1990. It has more than 125 retail members operating nearly 1,000 stores nationwide, as well as more than 225 manufacturers, brokers, wholesalers and other members.

In the featured photo at top: Jeff Forman of Advantage Sales and Marketing, left, accepts the Alabama Grocers Association Broker of the Year Award from Harold Garrett, association chairman.

 

 

Save-A-Lot Opens Stores In Paris, Ky., And Atlanta

Save-A-Lot, one of the nation’s leading hard discount, limited assortment grocery chains and a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu, has opened stores in Paris, Ky., and Atlanta, Ga.

The new Paris store opened July 18 and is located at 2236 Martin Luther King Blvd. The Atlanta store opened July 26 and is located at 1901 Metropolitan Pkwy. SW.

“Save-A-Lot is committed to offering fresh produce, dairy and USDA-inspected meat, as well as other essential grocery and household items to shoppers at an affordable price—typically up to 40 percent less than traditional grocery stores,” a news release says. “We look forward to welcoming shoppers to our Paris and Atlanta stores.”

Each Save-A-Lot store carries a selected assortment of 1,200 to 1,500 of the most popular, in-demand every day grocery essentials, including farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, USDA-inspected meats, dairy products, bakery goods, shelf-ready and frozen foods, household goods, pet food, baby, and health and beauty care products. Save-A-Lot stores, which average about 15,000 s.f. feature a wide range of high-quality brands, including Save-A-Lot Today, Coburn Farms and Tipton Grove, produced exclusively for Save-A-Lot by many of the country’s leading food manufacturers.

 

Winn-Dixie Moves On To National Social Madness Competition

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. is participating in the national Social Madness competition after winning Jacksonville’s competition in the large companies category with a score of 1,915.

The Jacksonville Business Journal reports that the social media team inside the company, anchored by Carlos Gil, has been a huge advocate of getting everyone in the company on board to improve social media. It takes a lot of effort to get the members of large company all dialed into social media.

Nick Cicero from On Ideas, which has helped the Winn-Dixie social media team, said Winn-Dixie is thrilled about winning the local competition, especially because the company launched many of their social presences just months before the contest began.

Winn-Dixie is trying to use social media to provide value to customers in between visits to the store. The company tries to give opportunities for people to come back to its Facebook page by posting weekly recipes and deals.

Much of the visitors to the social media sites are moms looking for recipes and discount, so Winn-Dixie tries to post information that will help them.

For the national campaign, Winn-Dixie wants to integrate more people on the ground level into the social media aspect, who live the brand promise every day. The social media team also wants to learn how to use customer feedback from the sites in a timely manner for improvements and continue to grow as a social business in total.

The first round of the national Social Madness competition started July 24.

 

AG’s Totoritis To Retire Aug. 30, Alexander Will Take Helm Of Co-op

Gerry Totoritis, current president and CEO of Associated Grocers of the South, is retiring—effective Aug. 30. AG’s current EVP of sales, Stan Alexander, will assume the role to lead the Birmingham, Ala.-based cooperative.

“On behalf of our board of directors, we take great pride in expressing sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for Gerry’s dedicated commitment and outstanding professional leadership throughout the past 12 years,” Board Chairman Jack Howell said in a letter to the cooperative’s stockholders and employees. The letter was received by The Shelby Report on July 20.

“Gerry led our organization to accomplish major facility improvements and significant technological advancements that will enhance our operation and benefit our independent retailers into the future,” Howell said. “This is certainly an exciting time for both Gerry and (wife) Ann as they embark on the next chapter of their lives together. We hope that everyone will join us in wishing both of them great happiness and excellent health in their wonderful years ahead.”

Howell added that the organization is excited to have Alexander as its new president and CEO upon Totoritis’ departure.

“Based on Stan’s extensive experience in our highly competitive market, we expect this to be a very smooth, seamless transition, as we all look forward to continued success,” Howell said.

Alexander is a graduate of Jacksonville State University with more than 40 years experience in the wholesale grocery industry, where he has held similar positions with Nash Finch, Roundy’s and Scrivner.

 

 

Harris Teeter to Expand in N.C. Triangle Area

Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. is preparing to add three stores in the Triangle area of North Carolina in 2013, the Charlotte Business Journal reports.

The stores are planned in Wake, Durham and Johnston counties. The expansion comes after the Matthews-based grocery chain stalled plans for several new Triangle-area stores in 2008, amid the recession.

 

Georgia Peach Council Sweetens Peoples’ Days

Georgia Peach Council’s grassroots marketing campaign sweetened the day for stressful workers in the key markets of Tampa and Orlando, Fla. This year, Florida consumers have been greeted with updated public relations, advertising and social media campaigns featuring the catch phrase, “Georgia Peaches, All Kinds of Sweet.” To highlight the message, surprise “Sweet on the Street” deliveries of the flavorful fruit were made to people with the most stressful jobs and local consumers in Orlando and Tampa in an effort to sweeten their day.

Georgia Peach Council’s “Sweet on the Street” team first delivered fresh Georgia Peaches to Tampa-area residents at one of the city’s most popular summertime free music events, Rock the Park, held at Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa. Concert-goers were surprised by enthusiastic Sweet on the Street team members in orange shirts passing out fresh, juicy Georgia Peaches.

The Sweet on the Street team made three more sweet deliveries in Tampa at the end of June. Fire Station No. 1 and Fire Station No. 14 each received a surprise visit from the Sweet on the Street Team. Unsuspecting firefighters opened the bay doors of their firehouses to hear cheers of appreciation and several boxes of Georgia Peaches. The firemen and women were honored with these gifts for their contribution and dedication to the local community. The final location for the Sweet on the Street Team was Tampa’s Charles J. Fendig Public Library. Patrons busy on computers and reading books were taken aback by the sudden appearance of more than 20 orange-shirted team members giving away Georgia Peaches and bracelets emblazoned with the Georgia Peach Council’s website.

The Sweet on the Street Team also made two sweet deliveries in downtown Orlando. The first stop was at Orlando Fire Station No. 1 to sweeten the day for the stressful firefighters. Team members cheered for the firefighters and delivered several boxes of Georgia Peaches. The next Orlando delivery took place in the heart of downtown during a Friday lunch hour on Wall Street, a popular pedestrian area. Orlando workers walking to and from lunch were shocked to see a crowd of orange shirts, cheering and passing out Georgia Peaches to sweeten their day.

“We’ve targeted Tampa and Orlando because Florida is a key market for Georgia Peaches,” said Duke Lane III, chairman of the Georgia Peach Council. “Floridians love our sweet Georgia Peaches and we love their oranges.”

 

 

Lake Worth Store Becomes Publix Sabor

The first Publix Sabor in Palm Beach County has been quietly opened by Publix Super Markets, according to a July 6 article in the Palm Beach Post. The store is in Lake Worth in a shopping center that has undergone .

The chain’s Sabor stores are full-service supermarkets that feature not only items found in traditional Publix stores but also Latin-inspired items that appeal to customers from Central and South America and the Caribbean, the article said. It also features a café that serves up authentic prepared foods such as cortadito and arepas.

Publix renovated the existing 36,000-s.f. store at 1910 Lake Worth Rd. into the Sabor format. Signs are in both English and Spanish.

Publix has only five Sabor locations in total, all of them in Florida. In addition to the latest one in Lake Worth, Sabors operate in Miami (2), Hialeah and Kissimmee.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/lake-worth-publix-renovated-with-a-latin-twist/nPnm8/

 In the photo at top: The exterior of the Publix Sabor in Lake Worth (photo: Bill Ingram, Palm Beach Post)