When the COVID-19 pandemic first began to unfold, Mike Violette saw the bi-weekly ROFDA conference calls as an invaluable resource for Associated Grocers of New England, of which he is president and CEO. “Each of us were able to bring something different to the table – the things that worked and those that didn’t […]
Category: ROFDA Reports
Posted inROFDA Reports, Home Page Latest News, West
ROFDA Board Members Envision More Inclusivity, Involvement
Members of the board of directors for the Retailer Owned Food Distributors and Associates discussed the state of the industry and shared their thoughts on what may lie ahead during a panel discussion at the organization’s fall conference. Board member Michael Violette, president and CEO of AG New England, praised the value of ROFDA’s share […]
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Smith Emphasizes Significance Of ROFDA’s Share Group Activities
To keep the future of ROFDA viable, David Smith, ROFDA board member and president of AWG, emphasized that a core value of the association is its share group activities. “It’s there that we find ways to tackle common problems that we have in our industry and our respective businesses, and we can learn from each […]
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Administrative And Operations Manager Held ROFDA Together
With the presidency of Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates vacant for the past two years, organization officials say Teresa Pope, administrative and operations manager, has been the “glue” that has held the organization together. Pope was part of the first executive staff that ROFDA hired in 1990. Through the three presidencies since then, she […]
Posted inROFDA Reports, Home Page Slider, West
Extending Relationships Has Helped ROFDA Remain Relevant
ROFDA board member Bob Obray’s fondest memories of the organization have always centered on building deeper relationships. “Across the industry, whether it’s with other cooperative members or vendors, service providers…it’s about relationships. And I think this kind of reinvention, revitalization, whatever you want to call it, ROFDA gives us an opportunity to expand and extend […]
Posted inROFDA Reports, Home Page Latest News, Southwest
Board, RAC Are 100 Percent Committed To ‘Revival Of ROFDA’
by Eric Pereira / content creator With a new president and CEO at ROFDA and a drive to bring change, ROFDA board member Randy Arceneaux, who is also president and CEO of Affiliated Foods in Amarillo, Texas, is delighted for what’s ahead. “We as a board and the ROFDA Advisory Council team will all be […]
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ROFDA And Associates Give $50,000 To American Red Cross
Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (ROFDA) Board Member and Secretary Mike Violette, president and CEO of Associated Grocers of New England, recently presented a $50,000 check to the American Red Cross. The donation was presented on behalf of ROFDA and its associates and was made at the Associated Grocers’ headquarters in Pembroke, New Hampshire. […]
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Labor, Product Shortages And Uncertainty Among Top Concerns for ROFDA
Members also assess e-commerce, other trends likely to stick around by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer With 2021 in full swing, ROFDA Chairman David Bullard said the association’s membership has expressed three major concerns. “One is the labor problem. Finding enough quality workers with a good work ethic gets harder and harder to do. Labor challenges […]
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Randy Arceneaux: Board Members’ Weekly Calls ‘Helped Us To Build An Even Closer Bond’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer As far as Randy Arceneaux is concerned, Affiliated Foods Inc. of Amarillo’s retail partners have been the frontline heroes throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “They are taking care of feeding America,” said Arceneaux, the company’s president and CEO. “All of the protocols they had to put in place in order […]
Posted inROFDA Reports, Home Page Slider, Shelby Originals, Southeast
Manard Lagasse: ROFDA Really Does ‘Some Outstanding Things’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer Across the landscape of 2020 – COVID and all – Manard Lagasse Jr. is proudest of retailers’ consistent approach to business through such a difficult time. “We’re in a lot of small communities, and their customers rely on their local grocery stores. Our retailers did everything they could to service […]
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Ray Sprinkle: Camaraderie Is Key – ‘Bottom Line…We’re All Facing The Same Thing’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer The grocery industry was not prepared for the volume jump that came with the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. To see it happen nationally, said Ray Sprinkle, was unprecedented. Disasters that affect volume, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, typically occur regionally. Demand was at an all-time high in the spring. However, […]
Posted inROFDA Reports, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Slider, Midwest, Shelby Originals, Whole Foods
Amy Niemetscheck: The Local Story – ‘Our Stores Can Continue To Find Those Connections’
by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer The state of Wisconsin was looking grim in March, according to Amy Niemetscheck. A state mandate took effect rapidly in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Our back office, within five days, went from not having a work-from-home policy to quickly adapting,” she said of Certco Inc., where she is […]
Posted inPiggly Wiggly, Home Page Slider, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Originals, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast, Wholesaler/Distributor News
Piggly Wiggly’s Bullard Got Education In More Than One Form In The Army
ROFDA Member: Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co. Editor’s note: The following is a portion of 2018’s ROFDA Report honoring ROFDA vets. The full report is available in the December 2018 editions of The Shelby Report. David Bullard, president and CEO of Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co. (PWADC), took a break from college to serve in […]
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Flexibility Has Kept Alabama Grocer Thriving For 50 Years
Gene Lawrence began his grocery career on a bicycle. Back in the early 1960s, he delivered groceries to people’s homes when he worked for an independent grocer in Montgomery, Alabama. About 1964, he went to work for Hudson-Thompson wholesale grocers there in Montgomery. He worked in produce, stocking and checking, and they trained him in […]
Posted inDeli News, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast, Store News
Independent Grocer Manning Rethinks How Things Are Done
Danny Manning has come a long way since he started as a bagger at 15 years old at a Food Town store in Eight Mile, Alabama. He moved to stocking, found favor with the company and got a produce rack about a year later. Once he graduated from high school, Manning went on to study […]
Posted inROFDA Reports, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, Northeast, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section, Store News, Whole Foods
At Hanover Co-op Food Stores, ‘Local’ Actually Means Local
Associated Grocers of New England member If you’ve ever seen a picture postcard of a quaint New England town, then you have a pretty good idea about the communities Hanover Co-op Food Stores serves, according to Allan Reetz, director of public relations. The 81-year-old co-op operates four retail stores in the Upper Connecticut River Valley, […]
Posted inMeat/Seafood/Poultry, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Suppliers, Wholesaler/Distributor News
Bo Jackson Says: Brand Name Is Meaningless Without A Reputation For Quality
Vincent “Bo” Jackson, a Heisman Trophy winner, a two-sport athlete and a businessman with more than two decades of experience, doesn’t take a half-hearted approach to anything if his track record is any indication. And the zealousness that has defined his athletic career also characterizes his more recent business ventures, including VEJ Holdings LLC, a […]
Posted inWomen In The News, Home Page Latest News, National, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content
Cashen: Putting A Stop To ‘Global Whining’ One Tip At A Time
Comedic motivational speaker Christine Cashen knows that we’re all tired and busy and stressed. But we don’t have to be. According to Cashen, we all are responsible for letting ourselves feel stretched too thin, and she’s on a mission to put a stop to our tendency to complain about our stressful, busy lives without doing […]
Posted in, Association News, Home Page Latest News, National, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section, Wholesaler/Distributor News
The 2016 ROFDA Report
Each year, The Shelby Report publishes a special section about Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates, better known as ROFDA. This special showcases the group’s work, its leadership and member-owners, as well as the independent grocery industry. The 2016 special appears below and also in the December print editions of The Shelby Report and The Griffin Report […]
Posted in, Albertsons, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Signature Content, West
Trading Company Stores President: Humor Is A Differentiator
Trading Company Stores President Paul Matejovsky had no intention of being in the grocery business. He grew up in Montana, spending “half my time on a saddle horse and the other half on a tractor. I was going to be a cowboy, baby.” He told those gathered for the ROFDA Spring Conference in Coeur d’Alene, […]