SACRAMENTO, CA (Nov. 30, 2012) – Kevin Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Farms, was elected the 2012-2013 California Grocers Association Chairman of the Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting on Nov. 30, 2012.

As Chairman, Davis will lead the Association’s strategy over the numerous legislative, educational and industry related programs. CGA is comprised of more than 400 retail companies operating more than 6,000 stores in California and Nevada. The chair serves for one year. He succeeds Immediate Past Chair Jonathan Mayes, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Government Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy for Safeway Inc.,

“Kevin is a dynamic, knowledgeable grocery executive who brings to the table years of experience in the food industry,” said CGA President and CEO Ronald K. Fong. “He has proven to be a valuable resource for the Association. He has a keen understanding of how the grocery industry works.”

In addition to Davis, the following individuals were elected to the 2012-2013 CGA Board of Directors Executive Committee: First Vice Chair, Mary Kasper, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market; Second Vice Chair, John Quinn, Food 4 Less (Stockton)/Times Supermarkets; Treasurer, Kevin Konkel, Raley’s; Secretary, Joe Falvey, Unified Grocers, Inc.; and Immediate Past Chair, Jonathan Mayes, Safeway Inc.

This year’s Chairman’s appointments to the Executive Committee include: Dave Jones, Kellogg Company, Mike Read, WinCo Foods, Inc.; and Dora Wong, Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Directors elected for their first full three-year term include: Renee Amen, Super A Foods; Teresa Anaya, Northgate Gonzalez Markets; Joe Angulo, Bodega Latina dba El Super; Eric Nadworny, Save Mart Supermarkets; Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Co.; Eric Lindberg, Jr., Grocery Outlet; Hee-Sook Nelson, Gelson’s Markets; Naresh Solanki, Bestway Markets; John Swindell, Food 4 Less/Kroger; Paul Turcotte, Pepsi Beverages Company; Jon Alden, Jelly Belly Candy Co.; Denny Belcastro, Hillshire Brands Company; and Bob Richardson, The Clorox Company.

“This is the largest ‘freshmen’ class in quite some time,” said Fong. “It demonstrates the strength of CGA and the confidence our industry has in the Association.”

Former Chairman of the Board Jim Amen, Super A Foods, Inc., was nominated an Honorary Board Member.

The California Grocers Association presented its Government Relations Advocacy Awards to two individual members and three member companies in recognition of their significant support of the Association’s government relations program.

“The foundation of our Association is government relations,” said CGA President/CEO Ronald Fong. “These individuals and companies went the extra mile this past year in supporting the many CGA advocacy programs through their active participation.”

This year’s recipients received their awards during the Association’s annual Government Relations Committee meeting on November 7, 2012. They included:

2012 Advocate of the Year (Individual)

• Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Company, Compton

2012 Advocate of the Year (Company)

• Gelson’s Markets, Encino, CA
• El Super, Paramount, CA
• Save Mart Supermarkets, Modesto, CA

2012 Supplier Advocate of the Year

• Robert Phillips, Coca-Cola Refreshments

Fong said CGA is fortunate to have strong membership advocacy support. For the Association to succeed with its government relations’ agenda both at the state and local level, membership needs to engage in the issues, he added.

California Grocers Association President/CEO Ron Fong’s response to the defeat of Proposition 37. CGA, along with the grocery industry, strongly opposed the initiative:

“We are very pleased with the outcome of Proposition 37 and thank California voters for seeing through this deceptive measure. California grocers agree that consumers should have access to information, but the form of that information is critically important.”

“Any food labeling requirements should be consistently applied regardless of where food is purchased, should meet national standards, and should come in a form that helps achieve compliance not enrich trial lawyers at the expense of higher food costs. Proposition 37 simply failed to meet that standard. That being said, CGA has already begun discussions with our diverse membership to identify solutions we can bring to the table to help consumers better access information they may want.”

Sacramento – California voters rejected Proposition 37, the flawed and misguided food labeling measure. The No on 37 campaign, a coalition of family farmers, doctors, scientists, researchers, Nobel Prize winners, retailers, food companies, business groups, taxpayer groups and community groups, said Californians saw through Prop. 37 and rejected the measure.

From the beginning, No on 37 allies argued that Prop. 37 was more than just a simple labeling measure, pointing out that it was misleading, costly and unnecessary based on the science of genetically engineered foods.

“California voters clearly saw through Prop 37 and rejected higher food costs, more lawsuits and more bureaucracy,” said Henry I. Miller, M.D., a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology (1989-1993). “Food labeling policy should be based on logic and science, not fear. Leading scientific organizations have all agreed that foods containing genetically engineered ingredients are safe and are not materially different from their traditional counterparts. We’re glad the voters rejected this misleading, costly and unnecessary measure.”

Nearly every daily newspaper in California urged a “No” vote on Prop. 37. In fact, more than 40 California newspapers recommended No on 37.

“Grocery retailers would have been hit the hardest by passage of Prop. 37, through more lawsuits, more bureaucracy and higher costs,” said Ronald Fong, president and CEO of the California Grocers Association. “These costs would have been passed on to consumers in the form of higher grocery bills.”

“California family farmers can breathe a little easier today,” said Jamie Johansson, an Oroville farmer who grows olives to make olive oil. Mr. Johansson is also second vice president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. “Prop. 37 would have imposed costly new regulations on California family farmers that no other state requires, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. Thankfully voters understood this and rejected Prop. 37 and voted instead to protect family farmers.”

About Prop. 37

Proposition 37 would have banned the sale of tens of thousands of perfectly-safe, common grocery products only in California unless they are specially repackaged, relabeled or remade with higher cost ingredients. Prop 37 was a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme that would have added more government bureaucracy and taxpayer costs, created new frivolous lawsuits, and increased food costs by billions — without providing any health or safety benefits. That’s why Prop 37 was opposed by a broad coalition of family farmers, scientists, doctors, business, labor, taxpayers and consumers.

2012 CGAEF Hall of Achievement Dinner

Bruce Everette, Executive Vice President, Retail Operations, Safeway Inc., and Dave Jones, Vice President, Industry Initiatives, The Kellogg Company, were inducted into the California Grocers Association Educational Foundation Hall of Achievement on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon, CA.

More than 450 friends, family and industry peers attended the Foundation’s annual event. Proceeds from the dinner fund the Foundation’s College Scholarship and Tuition Reimbursement programs.

Enjoy the Dinner in photos below.

On September 18, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a major overhaul of California’s $17 billion workers’ compensation insurance program. In response, CGA President Ron Fong issued the following:

“CGA is significantly concerned that absent corrective action, our member companies will begin to see the same double-digit increases in workers compensation premiums that plagued California a decade ago. We are pleased to support Governor Brown’s efforts this year to help address employers’ need for premium stability while also balancing the need of injured workers to receive fair compensation. We look forward to continuing to work with the Governor and his Administration in the coming years to ensure promised savings and efficiencies are realized.”

The California Grocers Association joined allied companies, associations and state agencies in encouraging Californians to be prepared in the event of a natural or man-made disaster during a one-day Preparedness Fair at the State Capitol on Tuesday, September 19.

CGA staff provided handouts on emergency preparedness and food safety action items individuals can use following a disaster.

“Our goal was to provide suggestions on how best to prepare for an emergency and the steps to take to ensure food safety in the aftermath of such an event,” said Dave Heylen, CGA.

The Fair was sponsored by the California Emergency Management Agency and is one of several events statewide held in September – National Preparedness Month. The goal is to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies their home, businesses and communities.

Click here for information on the event, including simple suggestions to be better prepared for a disaster.

SACRAMENTO, CA – (Sept. 13, 2012) California Grocers Association President Ronald K. Fong testified before a California Legislature Joint Informational Hearing today, telling legislators that a controversial initiative on the November ballot would create a litigation nightmare for grocery retailers if approved by voters.

In testimony before the Senate Committee and the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Fong said Proposition 37, which would require labeling of genetically engineered food, isn’t “really about the ‘right to know,’ but is about the ‘right to sue.’ And when it is time to sue, grocery retailers will be on the front line.”

“When lawsuits are filed, the trial lawyers might not be able to figure out who makes Cheerios,” Fong said, “but they sure as heck will know where they bought them.”

Fong told the Joint Hearing that Proposition 37 was written by a trial lawyer who helped write California’s Proposition 65 and whose organization has reaped millions of dollars from suing California businesses under the provisions of that proposition. Prop. 37 allows any private citizen, including attorneys, to sue, claiming a food company, grocer or farmer has violate the labeling provisions. He called it a “lose-lose” situation, with consumers having to pay higher grocery and taxpayer costs.

“In the last two decades, Prop. 65 has been abused by plaintiffs’ lawyers seeking to shakedown grocers into paying huge settlements that benefit only lawyers,” Fong said.

Quoting the California Legislative Analyst, Fong said, “Retailers such as grocery stores would be primarily responsible for complying with the measure by ensuring that their food products are correctly labeled.”

“That means grocers would be responsible for a paper trail on every ingredient of every food product we sell,” he told legislators. “That’s potentially hundreds of thousands of products requiring paperwork down to the seed level.”

Fong also addressed the initiative’s numerous loopholes and exemptions.

Citing a number of food products exempted from the proposition, Fong asked, “If the proponents of Prop. 37 were so concerned about our “right to know” or health, why would they exempt two-thirds of the food we eat every day?”

Fong joined Jamie Johansson, California Farm Bureau Federation and Kent Bradford, Seed Biotechnology Center, UC-Davis, in testifying in opposition to the controversial initiative.

The latest issue of California Grocer featuring the CGA Educational Foundation’s 20th anniversary is available online. In addition, Issue 4 includes the 2012-13 CGAEF College Scholarship recipient brochure.

Other feature stories include:

• California’s Retail Renaissance
• Multi-Cultural Medicine – A Prescription for Supermarket Pharmacies?
• The November 2012 General Election Ballot Measures At A Glance

and much more!

Don’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of the CGA Strategic Conference Early Bird registration rates! Conference registration rates go up Friday, September 6, 2012.

The CGA Strategic Conference is the most productive, well-attended, annual gathering of the California grocery industry. Each year, CGA brings together the top retail decision-makers representing the broad spectrum of California’s grocery industry and leading suppliers for this one-of-a-kind, business-building conference.

The conference offers a variety of targeted educational sessions and signature keynote addresses designed to provide attendees with immediate takeaways and insights from industry thought-leaders. Here, you will learn from high-caliber experts and discover the trends and issues that are surfacing and will affect your business. Gain tangible insights that you can use right away to improve your business.

The CGA Strategic Conference will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California. With the conference’s new, closer location, it’s even easier than ever to bring your entire team to learn new insights, network with your colleagues and hold productive business meetings involving all the right people.

Click here for a current list of retail companies attending and conference sponsors.

Early bird registration discount good through September 6, 2012.

Register TODAY at www.CGAStrategicConference.com