CGA President Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Posted on April 19, 2018March 4, 2019 by Lynn Melillo

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California Grocers Association President & Chief Executive Officer Ron Fong was one of five grocery executives to be inducted into the Food Industry Sales Association (FISA) Hall of Fame on April 12, 2018, during a gala dinner in Danville, Calif.

Also inducted were Joe Falvey, SuperValu/Market Centre; Kevin Konkel, Raley’s; Steve Junqueiro, Save Mart Companies (retired) and Bob Wilson (posthumously), Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream.

Nearly 300 family, friends and associates attended the event at the prestigious Blackhawk Museum. A family member or work associate introduced each inductee. Introducing CGA President Ron Fong was his son Jaden, a senior at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, Calif.

In accepting the award, Fong recognized the tremendous contributions all four inductees have made to California’s grocery industry and their involvement with CGA. Both Konkel and Falvey served as chair of the CGA Board of Directors. Junqueiro and Wilson, who passed away in 2016, were also previously inducted into the CGA Educational Foundation Hall of Achievement.

Fong is the first non-retailer to be inducted into the FISA Hall of Fame, since its first inductee, Tom Raley, Raley’s, received the award in 1979. Members of the CGA, CGA Educational Foundation and Retail Marketing Service boards were in attendance. “I can’t thank our board members enough for coming out to support this worthy association and the inductees for tonight’s Hall of Fame,” said Fong. “They all made the night special.”

“This is a very prestigious honor, and I’m very humbled to be selected along with Bob Wilson as the first non-retailers to enter this elite group of grocery icons,” said Fong. “I congratulate my fellow inductees. They are all very deserving of this award.”

Proceeds from the dinner fund the FISA’s Scholarship Program, which annually provides scholarships to deserving students from retailer and FISA member families who exhibit leadership in school and community activities and demonstrate superior scholastic achievement.

FISA is a not-for-profit organization of Northern California retail food industry sales managers and brokers. Its mission is to encourage positive working relationships in the grocery community while providing annual scholarships.

Click here for event photos.

Fong Receives National Award

Posted on April 11, 2018March 4, 2019 by Lynn Melillo

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Ronald Fong Honored with NGA Association Leadership Award

April 11, 2018 – Arlington, VA – The National Grocers Association (NGA) today presented Ronald Fong, California Grocers Association (CGA) President and CEO with its Association Leadership Award for his commitment and service to the independent supermarket industry.

“On behalf of the independent supermarket industry, I am pleased to honor and recognize Ron for his talent and dedication for the independent supermarket industry. Ron has been a passionate and enthusiastic industry leader throughout his career in his government relations work and successfully helping CGA to grow its membership,” said Peter J. Larkin, president and CEO, NGA.

Fong assumed the reigns of CGA as President and Chief Executive Officer on March 31, 2008. CGA serves a large and diverse membership comprised of 400 retail members, which includes national and regional grocery chains, independent operators, convenience stores and grocery wholesalers, and over 150 manufacturers and suppliers. As CGA’s president and CEO he is responsible the association’s strategic direction and staff which includes departments in government relations, communications and business conferences. He is also President to the CGA Educational Foundation, which funds college scholarships and tuition reimbursement to member employees and their family members.

During his tenure at CGA, Fong worked to defeat California’s Proposition 37, the mandatory GMO labeling for grocery retail, the passage of SB 270, the first statewide plastic bag ban, and most notably, he successfully navigated the merger of the California Independent Grocers Association into CGA while ensuring that a strong voice for the state’s independent operators would be maintained.

Fong joined the association after 12 years with the California Credit Union League (CCUL) where he was Vice President of State Government Affairs. He was responsible for the League’s 10-person Sacramento office and directed its advocacy program.

Prior to that, he was Corporate President for United Market, Inc., his family’s independent grocery company operating neighborhood stores in the Sacramento region. He grew up working in his family’s stores and understands the grocery industry from the backroom to the boardroom. His grandfather started Carmichael Supermarket in 1941, the first grocery market in his home town of Carmichael.

NGA initiated this award over a decade ago to honor and recognize state association executives who work tirelessly in their states on behalf of the independent supermarket industry.

Past recipients of this special recognition include Kathy Kuzava, President of the Georgia Food Industry Association, Tom Woodmansee, former president of the North Dakota Grocers Association, Brandon Scholz, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association; Jan Gee, president and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association; Kathy Siefken, executive director of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association; Jim Olsen, president of the Food Industry Association Executives; Tom Jackson, former president/CEO of the Ohio Grocers Association; Dan Shaul, state director of the Missouri Grocers Association; Jim Rogers, retired president and CEO of the Food Industry Alliance of New York; Pat Hicks, retired executive director Kentucky Grocers Association; and Jerry Fleagle, former president and CEO Iowa Grocery Industry Association.

Photo (l to r): Aaron Moreno, CGA; Kevin Davis, Bristol Farms; Leslie Sarasin, FMI, Ron Fong, CGA; Peter Larkin, NGA; Stacia Levenfeld, Save Mart Supermarkets; Kate Stille, Nugget Markets

CGA Honors “Legislator of the Year”

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Lynn Melillo

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ASSEMBLYMEMBER JIM COOPER RECEIVES
CGA “LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR” AWARD

Former law enforcement officer recognized for efforts to curb growing theft epidemic.

Assemblymember Jim Cooper with CGA 1st Vice Chair Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Co.

SACRAMENTO, CA (April 3, 2018) –– Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) was awarded the California Grocers Association 2018 “Legislator of the Year” Award during CGA’s annual Grocers Day at the Capitol event on Tuesday, April 3.

Cooper was honored for “being an exemplary public servant and a friend of the grocery industry in California,” said CGA First Vice Chair Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Company, who presented the award.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as CGA’s Legislator of the Year,” said Assemblymember Cooper. “California grocers often face step hurdles and very slim profit margins. As a state Assemblymember I recognize these difficulties and have fought to help our grocery industry succeed, helping keep costs low for consumers.”

The former Elk Grove mayor and retired law enforcement officer was also recognized for his efforts to legislatively address the growing theft epidemic facing the grocery industry statewide.

“Assemblymember Cooper had the courage to take those in his own party who saw nothing wrong with the status quo that has encouraged more people to steal with impunity,” added CGA President & CEO Ron Fong.

For 30 years, Cooper worked in law enforcement, serving in the Sacramento Sheriff’s department at all levels where he worked undercover in the narcotics unit and gangs unit for nearly a decade; earned a Bronze Star for Bravery during the Good Guys hostage crisis in 1991; and served as the department’s spokesperson.

“He has been a champion of the grocery industry and the greater business community, as well as a tireless advocate for public safety,” Doyel said. “It is for these reasons that we are proud to honor Jim Cooper for being an exemplary public servant and a friend of the grocery industry in California.”