The Arizona Food Marketing Alliance (AFMA) will host its annual Excellence in Leadership Awards Banquet on Oct. 17 at the Phoenix Downtown Sheraton. AFMA has been hosting this event since 1965.
This year’s ceremony will honor Jim Nielsen, COO of Sprouts Farmers Market, as the Retailer of the Year; Paul Ratner, off-premise general sales manager at Southern Wine & Spirits, as the Supplier of the Year; and Don Olsen of Olsen’s Marketplace IGA will be inducted into the Arizona Food Industry Hall of Fame.
The Excellence in Leadership Awards Banquet is the premier retail food industry event in Arizona, and this year’s event is expected to draw a record 1,000 attendees.
“This event is supported by our grocery partners, and this year they have collectively driven this event to a record attendance,” said AFMA President Tim McCabe.
Arizona’s retail food industry and its suppliers represent $16 billion in sales revenue, 5,600 outlets and more than 100,000 employees in state.
