Distributor Leaders Elected to IFDA Board

Orlando, FL -  During the Annual Membership Meeting held at the 2010 IFDA Partners Executive Forum, members of the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) elected Mac Sullivan new IFDA chairman.

Board Officers to the IFDA Board of Directors, elected three new directors, and re-elected seven existing directors. The IFDA Board — which works as the governing body of the association — establishes major strategies, policies, and long-term association objectives.

“IFDA’s role is to provide leadership for our industry in a number of areas, including education, research, and government relations,” said Mac Sullivan, president and CEO of Pate Dawson Company following his election as the new IFDA chairman. “All told, we have 29 industry leaders serving on the IFDA Board who are highly engaged in leading our trade association, in providing exceptional governance, and in setting strategy that ensures our ability to grow and prosper. I want to thank all of these individuals for their commitment to helping our industry.”

The following individuals were elected to two-year terms as IFDA Board of Director Officers:

·         As Chairman of IFDA: Malcolm Sullivan, Jr., President & CEO, Pate Dawson Company (Goldsboro, NC)

·         As Vice Chairman of IFDA: Thomas Zatina, President, McLane Foodservice, Inc. (Carrollton, TX)

·         As Treasurer of IFDA: James Crawford, Chairman and CEO, Clover Hill Foods (Bridgeville, PA)

Two new Directors were elected to three-year terms beginning in 2010, including:

·         James Gordon, President, Gordon Food Service (Grand Rapids, MI)

·         David Ginsberg, President / CEO, Ginsberg’s Foods, Inc. (Hudson, NY)

One new Director was elected to fulfill an existing term:

·         David Schreibman, EVP, Strategy, U.S. Foodservice (Rosemont, IL)

Seven individuals were re-elected to three-year terms as Directors beginning in 2010, including:

·         Larry Pulliam, EVP – Foodservice Operations, Sysco Corporation (Houston, TX)

·         W. Kent McClelland, President & COO, Shamrock Foods Company (Phoenix, AZ)

·         Larry Perkins, President, Perkins (Taunton, MA)

·         Boyd Jordan, III, President, Reinhart FoodService, LLC (La Cross, WI)

·         Terry Snyder, President, Pocono Produce Company, Inc. (Stroudsburg, PA)

·         John Tracy, CEO, Dot Foods, Incorporated (Mount Sterling, IL)

·         John Martin, CEO, Martin Brothers Distributing Company, Inc. (Cedar Falls, IA)

Mr. Sullivan also recognized the significant accomplishments of outgoing IFDA Chairman John Martin, CEO of Martin Brothers Distributing Co., Inc. “When John entered into his role as chairman, he shared his desire to help move the industry towards realizing data standards that could benefit the entire supply chain. As IFDA Chairman, John has been instrumental in helping our industry move toward achieving that goal and has been a primary force in helping to establish the Foodservice GS1 Standards Initiative…. John was pivotal in this effort, and I want to sincerely thank him for his leadership and vision,” said Sullivan.

Following elections, a briefing on the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative was provided that included a strategic perspective of the initiative from IFDA Director Mike Roach, president of Ben E. Keith Foods and co-chair of the Initiative Steering Committee. A detailed overview about GS1 Standards was also provided by Dan Wilkinson, vice president of business development with GS1 US and leader of the GS1 Foodservice team.

Prior to elections, two individuals retiring from the Board were recognized including Dan Gordon of Gordon Food Service and Bob Aiken of U.S. Foodservice. Mr. Gordon was a member of the IFDA Board of Directors for 13 years and served as our Chairman from 2003 to 2004. Mr. Aiken served on the Board from 2004 through January 2010.

For a complete list of the IFDA Board of Directors, click here.

About International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA)
When U.S. consumers sit down to eat in one of the nation’s nearly one million foodservice locations, the food on the plate—and possibly the plate and tableware—has been brought there by a foodservice distributor. IFDA is the leading trade association representing foodservice distributors throughout the United States and internationally. IFDA’s members include broadline, systems, and specialty foodservice distributors that supply food and related products to restaurants and other food away from home foodservice operations. IFDA members operate more than 700 distribution facilities representing more than $110 billion in annual sales.

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