WEDNESDAY SESSIONS
Food Safety in Operations
Wednesday, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Carefully orchestrated coordination between Operations and Food Safety can make or break an audit or inspection. Beginning with training essentials and continuing through day/night safety plans, preparing for unforeseen circumstances, and implementing effective communication that keeps all parties on the same page, this session will provide the complete picture of a successful food safety program.
Speakers: Ceret Leyva, Dir., Food Safety, Ben E. Keith Company
Lance Wheeler, Food Safety Coordinator, Ben E. Keith Foods – Oklahoma
Managing Mental Health
Wednesday, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
One of today’s most important labor trends is the increased focus on mental health and how it contributes to employee retention and productivity. This session will explore the many risk factors for mental health that may be present in your work environment, while highlighting tools and resources for investing in team members’ wellbeing.
Speaker: Jason Burns, Marketplace Chaplains
Long-Range Planning in a Time of Upheaval
Wednesday, 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
COVID-19 produced a seismic shift in our industry that threw long-range planning into chaos. With foodservice distributors continuing to face supply chain obstacles, inflationary pressures, operator closures, and labor shortages, this session will focus on ways to make sense of long-range planning at a time when the long term has never been harder to read.
Speaker: Jon Krueger, Supply Chain Business Change Manager, Gordon Food Service
Safety Programs that Stick
Wednesday, 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
A robust and engaging safety program can offer managers the most valuable workplace asset – peace of mind that employees will adhere to best practices. A safety program that fails to engage personnel after initial presentations, however, ultimately detracts from a company’s efforts, potentially leading to financial and regulatory headaches. Join this session to explore ideas for crafting memorable and easy-to-learn safety programs that stick with employees long after orientation.
Speaker: Ken Cosby, Dir., Safety and Compliance, Performance Food Group
Communicating Without Losing Your Cool (Professional Development)
Wednesday, 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
Every day you deal with challenging situations and difficult people. It’s easy to lose your cool but that only makes the situation worse. In this interactive session, you’ll learn the secret to recognizing your own tipping point and learning how to walk yourself back from the edge. You need to know these techniques, so you don’t blow it!
Presenter: Shelley Row, Founder & CEO, Blue Fjord Leaders
THURSDAY SESSIONS
Making the Most of Your Food Donation Program
Thursday, 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Donating surplus food not only supports hunger relief efforts in local communities, but also has a positive business impact on inventory management, taxes, waste removal costs, and labor recruitment and retention. Members of IFDA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee will share their successes and challenges, and present a newly created resource kit tailored to help foodservice distribution companies of all sizes build a successful food donation program. Attendees will learn the internal, external, and financial benefits of operating a food donation program using existing internal channels to move surplus food from landfills to those in need.
Speakers: Tammy McElroy, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sysco Corporation and Chair of IFDA’s CSR Committee
Gia Dowling, Corporate Vice President, People and Culture at Nicholas and Company
Bryan Langston, President, Dot Transportation Inc.
Deanna Segreti, Director of Digital Media and Communications, Saval Foods
Before There is a Union Organizing Attempt
Thursday, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Too often an organization only begins to plan its response to a union attempt after they have been notified, leaving them playing defense on more difficult terrain. This session is designed to explore both arenas: strategic prevention before a union attempt and carefully planned response after. The speakers will help you examine your company’s current policies, procedures, and culture in the context of labor organization activities, as well as plans to have ready to activate if you do get notified and the clock starts ticking.
Speakers: Barry Bates, Executive Vice President, enVISION Strategic Solutions
Tim Fatum, President, enVISION Strategic Solutions
Dana Wood, Executive Vice President, enVISION Strategic Solutions
Communication Essentials: Listening Between the Lines (Professional Development)
Thursday, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
We think of communication as an exchange of information. If only it were so simple! Effective communication also enhances the relationship and that requires listening between the lines and understanding the nuances of reading your audience. In this neuroscience-based session, you’ll learn to separate the content of the discussion from the emotional context. And you’ll discover the listening skills to manage both content and context for this make-or-break skill.
Speaker: Shelley Row, Founder & CEO, Blue Fjord Leaders
Protect Your Assets! Cybersecurity Best Practices for Distributors
Thursday, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
There is no safe haven in the digital economy – for any successful company, cyberattacks are a question of “when,” not “if.” Fortunately, you have a wide variety of new tools and tactics at your disposal that can help you stay ahead of nefarious actors. The presenters in this session will describe the recent attack they endured, its impact on business and what you can do to build a modern-day suit of armor that will frustrate even the most advanced cybercriminals.
Presenters: Paul Saval, Owner, Saval Foods
Rachel I. Wilson, Managing Director, Head of Data Security and Infrastructure Risk, Morgan Stanley
Smarter Succession Planning
Thursday, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Effective succession planning requires far more than just identifying up-and-coming leaders. You must also keep them engaged in their current roles, thoughtfully expand their knowledge base, convey clear paths for advancement, and prepare a strategic plan for handing off the baton. This session will break down a 9-block plan for ensuring a careful and effective transition to the next generation of distribution leaders.
Speakers: Ruben Riggins, Director of Employee Development, Ben E. Keith Foods
Sylvia Rodarte, MBA, SPHR, CEC, Director of Human Resources, Ben E. Keith Foods
Jon Birdwell, Director of Warehouse Operations, Ben E. Keith Company
Beco Maldonado, Operations, Manager, Ben E. Keith Foods - San Antonio