2016 Annual Meeting Highlights
Navigating the Winds of Change
The Association for Dressings & Sauces’ (ADS) Annual Meeting, held at the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort in Marco Island, Florida, October 8-10, brought a program based on change — from consumer changes in flavors to governmental changes in nutritional profiles to manufacturing changes in formulations — to almost 130 attendees.
ADS offers a sincere “thank you” to all our Annual Meeting Sponsors:
Diamond
Mizkan America, Inc. (Saturday Evening Dinner)
Emerald
Fleischmann’s Vinegar Company, Inc. (Monday Evening Dinner)
T.W. Garner Food Company (Sunday Awards Luncheon)
Ruby
Bell Flavors & Fragrances (Sunday Evening Reception)
California Garlic Company (Monday Evening Reception)
Mold-Rite Plastics (Monday Morning Breakfast)
Ring Container Technologies (Saturday Evening Reception)
Winpak Ltd. (Badge Lanyards)
Sapphire
Grain Processing Corporation (Monday Morning Coffee Break)
Parker Plastics, Inc. (Sunday Morning Coffee Break)
Scott Turbon® Mixer, Inc. (Sunday Culinary Challenge)
Amethyst
Phoenix Closures, Inc. ($5,000 Hole in One)
Topaz (Golf Hole Sponsors)
Accurate Ingredients, Inc.
Graham Packaging Company
Grande Custom Ingredients
LANGGUTH America Ltd.
Plastic Industries, Inc.
Pretium Packaging
Wisconsin Spice, Inc.
To start the meeting, ADS Chair of the Board, Steve Dabrow of Chelten House Products, Inc. provided attendees with The State of the Association, an update on Association activities and emphasized how the ADS strategic plan provides a foothold to ride out the waves of business and keep a solid direction.
Steve then acknowledged the dedicated service and retirement of two important individuals in ADS’ history: Rick Cristol of Kellen, and his role with ADS over the years, and Rick Duggan of Cains Foods, a TreeHouse Foods Company, immediate past Board Chair of ADS.
Sunday’s Sessions
The first speaker on Sunday was William Espey, Branding Visionary, of Chipotle Mexican Grill. In his presentation, If Brands Are People, Too: Building and Maintaining Long-Term Customer Relationships, he related the definition of a person with the definition of a brand, accenting the importance of values within the context of communication. William evaluated brand building through the lenses of psychology and sociology and spoke of how Chipotle has approached “when things go wrong” with an honest apology, total transparency and then, how to move forward.
James Lloyd, President, 9 Screens International, gave a presentation “Passing The Spark: Motivating Others” highlighting the primary needs people have in a job, from appreciation to the desire for interesting work. And while good wages play a part, money is only one aspect of what it takes to motivate employees to succeed and grow with the company. To learn more, visit www.jameslloyd.com.
ADS Awards Luncheon
On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Dabrow announced the 2016 Dressing, Sauce, Package and Package (Student) of the Year winners during the ADS Awards Luncheon:
- 2016 Dressing of the Year: Q & B Foods for its Kewpie Deep Roasted Sesame Dressing and Marinade
- 2016 Sauce of the Year: Chelten House Products, Inc. for its Bacon Moonshine BBQ Sauce2016 Package of the Year: The C.F. Sauer Company for its Duke’sâ Mayonnaise Flexible Stand-up Pouch with FlexFit™ Dispensing Closure.
- Supporting vendor for the Package of the Year award: Delkor Systems, Inc.
- 2016 Package of the Year for Students: Clemson University for its Spaghetti & Sauce 2-in-1 Package.
Attendees enjoyed the winning dressing and sauce products during the luncheon. Congratulations to all winners!
(Pictured: Terry Dunseith, Jerry Shepherd, Shinji Nagase)
(Pictured: George Arbocus, Jason Dabrow, Steve Dabrow)
(Pictured: David Deaton, Delkor Systems, Inc., Cecilia Brock and John Hilker, The C.F. Sauer Company)
(Pictured: Memgmeng Zhao, Clemson University)
To view photos of the winning products, or for more information regarding how to nominate your company’s products or packages for the 2017 awards, visit the ADS Members-Only website.
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Mr. Dabrow also reminded attendees who won the ADS 2016 Technical Service Award Winner, Dave Horowitz of DuPont Nutrition & Health. Dave was presented with his award in May during the Technical Meeting in Savannah, GA. |
 challenge network The Culinary Challenge Networking Event and Reception, held on Sunday evening, served as another great opportunity for manufacturers and suppliers to become acquainted with one another. Moderated by George Arbocus of Chelten House Products, Inc. three teams competed using a common basket of ingredients. Each team included ADS members along with a Marriott chef. Team 1 consisted of Marion Brooks of Kalsec, Inc., Kim Kennedy of Sunsweet Growers and Jason Dabrow of Chelten House Products, Inc. Team 2 included Bill O’Connor of Olds Products Company, Dana Johnson Downing of TraceGains, Inc. and Darian Fuselier of Grande Custom Ingredients Group. Team 3 paired Ryan Schuelke of Enercon Industries, John Marshburn of Premier Juices and Tim Ferrel of Phoenix Closures. Team 3 took home the honors, as voted by applause! |
Monday’s Sessions
Monday’s sessions began with American Politics Through the Years presented by Mara Liasson of National Public Radio (NPR) and Fox News Analyst. Mara reviewed this year’s presidential election and the challenges that each candidate faces in the road to the White House, as well as how the country’s shift in thinking has played a major part in sculpting the November ballots.
The last speaker on Monday was Todd Hale. In his presentation, Tracking Trends To Drive Growth, Mr. Hale delved into the retail landscape and performance and revealed how trends such as population growth, income, prices and ecommerce has impacted it. Mr. Hale presented trends in private brands as well as perceptions from today’s multicultural audiences, along with the increased diversity in shopping behaviors and in how food away from home has surpassed food at home. Tracking Trends To Drive Growth Presentation (pdf)
Congratulations to ADS Buck Recipients!
The following were awarded ADS Bucks during the Annual Meeting:
- George Arbocus, Chelten House Products, Inc. for his referral of DWS Printing
- Cecilia Brock, The C.F. Sauer Company for her referral of LMI Packaging Solutions
- Ryan Brooks, Brooks’ Bottling Co., LLC for his referral of Premier Juices
- Ryan Schuelke, Enercon Industries for his referral of Outlook Group
- Celeste Sullivan, Grain Processing Corporation for her referral of Montour Ltd
Association Business – Congratulations New Officers and Directors
The 2017 ADS Officers and Directors were also elected during Sunday’s general business session of the ADS Annual Meeting.
The 2017 Officers are: Chair-Steve Dabrow of Chelten House Products, Inc., Vice Chair- Joe Higgs, Ventura Foods LLC; Treasurer- Jeff Noble, T. Marzetti Company; and Secretary- Mary Drew, McCormick & Company;
The 2017 Directors include: Michael Axelrod, TreeHouse Foods; Mike Bauer, Unilever; Wendell Christoff, Litehouse, Inc.; Michelle Claudnic, The Clorox Company; Dr. Derek Greer, Golden State Foods; Dave Horowitz, DuPont Nutrition & Health; Paula Klassen, TreeHouse Foods (ETB Liaison); Bob Merchant, Ken’s Foods, Inc.; Bill O’Connor, Olds Products Company; George Reisinger, Pretium Packaging (SAC Liaison); and Gloria Stern, Pinnacle Foods
Also taking place at the 2016 Annual Meeting were the following meetings: Board of Directors, ADS Communications Update; Executive Technical Board; Membership Council; Packaging Committee and Supplier Advisory Committee. If you have an interest in being a part of any of these Committees, please contact Headquarters for more information.
ADS Golf Tournament:
Golfers had an outstanding day at the Rookery Golf Course, allowing members to enjoy a day on the links, along with some invaluable networking time. Thanks to George Reisinger of Pretium Packaging for serving as golf ambassador!
Here are the winners:
1st Place Team – David Deaton, Delkor Systems, Inc./ John Marshburn, Premier Juices / Jeff Noble, T. Marzetti Company / John Rosingana, California Garlic Company-Garlic King
2nd Place Team –David Beaty, Fleischmann’s Vinegar/ Josh Nollin, GCS Zeller Plastik / Brian Smith, Ring Container Technologies/ Steve Woullard, Reily Foods Company
3rd Place Team –Mike Anderson/ Darian Fuselier, Grande Custom Ingredients Group / John Hilker, The C.F. Sauer Company / Jim Pricola, Fleischmann’s Vinegar Company
Straightest Drive – George Reisinger, Pretium Packaging
Closest to Pin – Steve Dabrow, Chelten House Products, Inc.
Longest Putt – Pete Gioldasis, Sonoco
Longest Drive – Owen Schmidt, Mold-Rite Plastics
For more information, please log onto the Members-Only section of the ADS website at www.adsmembers.org. Please contact Headquarters if you need the username and password.
