The 2017 CGA Strategic Conference struck just the right chord this year for the more than 700 grocery retailers, suppliers, wholesalers and brokers attending this annual event on Sept. 24-26, in Palm Springs, Calif.

This year’s theme – Working in Concert – featured a symphony of educational programming, networking events and social gatherings designed to reinforce the conference’s collaboration message.

“Our goal was to have our attendees focus their peer-to-peer discussions around the need for greater collaboration,” said CGA President/CEO Ron Fong. “I think we accomplished that goal.”

CGA has conducted its annual gathering of California’s grocery industry since 1898. Attendees heard from industry experts and several “non-traditional” voices, participating in CGA’s signature face-to-face business meetings and enjoyed relaxing after hours networking events.

New this year was the addition of the Loss Prevention Executive Summit, featuring six hours of loss prevention, safety and risk management educational programming. The conference also created a “Morning Jam Session,” featuring three unique voices patterned after the popular Ted-style presentations.

“Both these additions were tremendous hits,” said Fong. “We hope to expand the loss prevention program next year and draw an even greater number of LP professionals and vendors. The Morning Jam Session was also a huge success and the format will probably return next year.”

Along with the educational programming, CGA also served up strong networking and social events, thanks in large part to its supplier partners, The Illuminators.

“The Illuminators continue to provide great meal functions and social events in support of the conference,” Fong said. “This dedicated group of industry suppliers are an intricate part of our success. Thank you once again for your tremendous support.”

Also new this year was a special Pre-Conference Succession Planning Seminar featuring noted expert Dr. Tom Deans and Sid Tobiason, Moss Adams, that discussed steps to create a viable succession plan for businesses.

The seminar and Illuminators Golf Tournament kicked off the conference on Sunday and was followed by “The Opening Experience” featuring Sekou Andrews, the world’s leading “Poetic Voice.” His powerful message blended poetry with the stories of our grocery industry while capturing the conference theme message of collaboration, connecting and working in concert.

Monday’s programming started early with CGA’s Whiteboard Sessions, roundtable discussion groups focused on some of today’s most pressing industry issues. This was followed by the General Session keynote speaker Josh Linkner and opened with an industry panel discussing ways the entire supply chain can collaborate more closely.

Monday’s offerings also included the highly popular Independent Grocers Forum that featured a Founder and the Chief Operating Office of My Cloud Grocer, Dan Dashevsky, who provided five easy steps for independent grocers to achieve E-commerce success. Forum attendees also heard customized presentations from major manufacturers.

Highlighting Tuesday’s program was the Morning Jam Session and the Keynote Luncheon presentation. The Jam Session featured three 15 minute presentations by Payman Nejati, Handpick; John Foraker, former president of Annie’s Inc. and Tracie Maffei, Google. Inc. The Luncheon Keynote Address closed the conference’s educational program and featured two Nielsen executives discussing the impact of health & wellness, transparency and personalization on California consumers.

In addition to the conference’s strong educational programming, attendees also participated in the conference’s signature face-to-face pre-scheduled business meetings.

“Our team scheduled more than 1,100 meetings over the course of just two days,” Fong said. “We typically call it speed dating for grocery and that’s a pretty accurate description.

Fong wished to thank the many sponsored that made this year’s conference a tremendous success. The sponsors are listed on the CGA Strategic Conference website.

 

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The CGA Educational Foundation hosted the second of two Golf Classics on July 18 at the beautiful and challenging Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif. A near full field of 138 grocery retailers, suppliers and wholesalers teed it up for this annual Northern California event. Proceeds from the event help fund the Foundation’s college scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs. The Foundation wishes to thank the many sponsors for their generous donations.

The Winners

1st Place

• Daniel Reid
• Brian Hudgins
• Fred Thumhart
• Ryan Durkin

2nd Place

• Brent Hughes
• Jake Jain
• Jordan Wettstein
• Chang So

3rd Place

• Brand Clark
• Scott Powell
• Bill Cote
• Saul Mejia

Closest to the Pin

• Men – Mark Olejnik (7’7″)
• Women – Cavi Drake (23’1″)

Longest Drive

• Men – Jake Jain
• Women – Mary Keller

Thank You Sponsors!

Breakfast

• The Illuminators

Lunch

• Smithfield Foods, Inc.
• Farmer John Foods

Masters Sponsors

• Anheuser-Busch
• InBev
• Bimbo Bakeries USA
• Chobani, Inc.
• Coca-Cola Refreshments
• Jelly Belly Candy Company
• Kellogg Company
• Kraft Heinz Company
• Mondelez International
• Moss Adams
• Post Consumer Brands
• SUPERVALU West Region

Package Sponsors

• C&H Sugar Co./ASR Group
• C&S Wholesale Grocers
• Classic Wines of California
• CROSSMARK
• Farmer John Foods
• Food 4 Less/Rancho San Miguel
• The Hershey Company
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation
• MillerCoorsNuCal Foods
• PepsiCo North American Nutrition
• Popcornopolis
• Procter & Gamble
• Raley’s
• Royal Wine Co/KeyCo
• Sugar Bowl Bakery
• UNFI/Tony’s Fine Foods

Hole Sponsors

• John Hooker’s Gourmet Salad
• Key Mechanical
• Retail Marketing Services
• Smithfield Foods, Inc.
• Spiked Seltzer

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The 2017 CGA Educational Foundation Southern California California Golf Classic was a tremendous success with perfect weather, a new golf course and a new scoring format combining to make the event one of the best in its history.

This year’s tournament was held at the beautiful Monarch Beach Golf Golf Links in Dana Point. A full field of 144 golfers were treated with near perfect weather and course conditions. Along with a new course, the tournament also used a new golf scoring system – Peoria – which brought greater equality to the field of seasoned and newbie golfers.

The July 11 event is one of two golf classics hosted by the CGA Educational Foundation. The second is July 18 at Blackhawk country Club. Proceeds from both events go towards funding the Foundation’s college scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs.

“Once again the Foundation has hosted a fantastic golf tournament that allowed for tremendous networking opportunities and provided significant funding for several great programs,” said Ron Fong, CGAEF President. “The Foundation wishes to thank all those that participated in the event and donated through sponsoring the event.”

In addition to the numerous sponsors, The Illuminators once again hosted the tournament breakfast. “The Foundation is extremely appreciative to the Illuminators for their continued generosity and support of this event,” said Shiloh London, CGAEF Executive Director.

Scroll down to see the winners, sponsors and a photo recap of this year’s event!

The Winners

First Place – 61

Ben Lengsfield
Paul D’Arca
Lester Massengale
Jeff Novak

Second Place – 64

Bryan Jankans
Kevin Arceneaux
Jon Ball
Josh Linden

Third Place – 66

Harvey Brown
Nico Garcia
Jason Timlin

Longest Drive – Men

Nico Garcia

Closest to the Pin – Women

Monica Abarca

Closest to the Pin – Men

Ben Lengsfield

Thank You Sponsors

MASTERS Sponsors
Anheuser-Busch
Bimbo Bakeries
Chobani
Coca-Cola Refreshments
Jelly Belly Candy Company
Kellogg Company
Mondelez International
Moss Adams
Post Consumer Brands
SUPERVALU West Region
The Kraft Heinz Company

PACKAGE Sponsors
Acosta Sales & Marketing
Advantage Solutions
Albertsons Vons Pavilions
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Certified Federal Credit Union
Classic Wines of California
Del Real Foods
Farmer John Foods
Gallo Wine Company
Gelson’s Markets
Hidden Villa Ranch
InterSource West
Jack Links
Kimberly Clark Corp
Kirkley Corporation
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
MillerCoors
Samuelson, Gonzalez, Valenzuela & Brown LLP
Super A Foods
the Performance Group
Whole Foods Market

HOLE-IN-ONE Sponsor
Zenith Insurance Company

HOLE Sponsor
RATIONAL Cooking System

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The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) has issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20, and Wednesday, June 21.

Consumers are urged to conserve electricity especially during the late afternoon when air conditioners typically are at peak use. Consumers can help avoid power outages by turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 2 p.m. and after 9 p.m., and setting air conditioners to 78 degrees or higher.

During times of high temperatures, demand on the power grid can be strained, as air conditioner use increases. The forecast peak usage for Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to exceed 47,000 megawatts each day in California ISO’s service territory, which serves roughly 80 percent of electricity customers.

For more electricity conservation tips, visit the ISO’s Flex Alert website.

By the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board
June 2, 2017

By one important measure, California’s 30-year-old Beverage Container Recycling program has been a big success. Up until last year, more than 80% of qualifying plastic bottles, glass containers and aluminum cans were returned to recycling centers each year. Billions of bottles and cans that might have otherwise ended up in the state’s landfills have found new lives in recycled products.

Yet the program is in trouble because the state shortchanged the centers on their subsidies just as the price of scrap material was dropping. A quarter of the state’s recycling centers have closed in the last year and half, many of them in rural areas. And with fewer places to redeem bottles and cans, last year recycling rates dropped to just under 80% for the first time since 2009. Unless lawmakers step in immediately, the rates may well continue to drop, sending untold amounts of potentially recyclable material into the waste stream.

Gov. Brown and legislators want to overhaul the program, and they should. It’s inherently unsustainable, victimized by its own success; the revenue the state relies on to support it — the deposits consumers pay on bottled goods — goes down as the recycling rate goes up. To make matters worse, the subsidies needed to ensure adequate recycling centers to serve the entire state are based on a number of factors entirely out of the state’s control like labor costs, rent and global demand for plastic or aluminum.

But starving the program while waiting for an overhaul is not the answer. Legislators must include the appropriate amount to fully fund the program in the next fiscal year’s budget. Then we can talk about the best way to reform the program for another successful 30 years.