The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) announced the winners of the 8th Annual Distributor Awards. The prestigious awards acknowledge distributor leadership and overall excellence within the foodservice industry. The winners will be celebrated at Presidents Conference, Nov. 2-5, 2014, co-hosted by IFMA and The International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA).
2014 IFMA Distributor Award recipients:
-- Gordon Food Service receives the IFMA Excellence in Distribution Award. This award recognizes a corporate or independent distribution organization that has demonstrated excellence in the categories of management and leadership, customer relations, supplier relations and industry/community contributions. Gordon Food Service started out as a butter-and-egg delivery business more than a century ago. Today, they are the largest family-owned broadline foodservice distributor in North America-and one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. Gordon Foodservice was nominated by the Par-Way Tryson Company.
-- Reinhart Foodservice is awarded the IFMA Distributor Sales & Marketing Performance Award, which recognizes a single independent distributor or an individual operating company of a distributor with multiple locations that has demonstrated successful planning and execution of creative sales and marketing. At close to the half century mark, Reinhart Foodservice has grown from its first 8,000 square foot distribution center in La Crosse, Wisconsin to become the 5th largest foodservice distributor in the country. Reinhart Foodservice was nominated by Consumers Packing Company, Schreiber Foods and Sugar Foods Corporation.
-- Malcolm Sullivan, CEO, Pate Dawson Company is named winner of IFMA's Distinguished Industry Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual who has brought about positive change in the foodservice distribution community and has been a pioneer in the areas of management, marketing and operations. Much like the company he leads, Pate Dawson, Malcolm Sullivan demonstrates great leadership, continuous improvement, willingness to embrace change for betterment and superior execution. These values guide his leadership and relationships with trading partners.
The Distributor Awards enable IFMA and its membership, which includes leading foodservice manufacturers and industry resources, to share their sincere appreciation for the integral role distributors play in the foodservice channel. International Foodservice Manufacturers Association Names Top Distributors in Foodservice continued: "Strong distributor partnerships are paramount for operator success in the foodservice industry," says Larry Oberkfell, president and CEO of IFMA. "This year's Distributor Award recipients are among the best in the business and we are proud to honor them."
Sponsored by J.R. Simplot Company, the awards will be presented Tuesday, November 4, 2014 during the IFMA/IFDA Presidents Conference, at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix, Ariz.
