AFFI: elects new board leadership

McLean / VA. (bw) The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) announced the election of three officers and seven members to the AFFI Board of Directors. The elections took place at the AFFI Annual Meeting and Keynote Breakfast held in conjunction with the 2013 AFFI Frozen Food Convention in Anaheim, California. The newly-elected AFFI officers are: Jeff Varcoe of The Schwan Food Company as chairman; Dave Yanda of Lakeside Foods Inc. as vice chairman; and George F. Smith of NorPac Foods Inc. as immediate past chairman.

• Varcoe is vice president of food safety and quality for The Schwan Food Company, a privately-held company based in Marshall, Minnesota, that sells branded frozen food through home delivery, retail and foodservice channels throughout North America.
• Yanda is president and CEO of Lakeside Foods, a privately-held international private-label food processor headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with 15 plants and eight distribution centres in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio.
• Smith is president and CEO of NorPac Foods, a nationally-recognized farmer cooperative and processor headquartered in Stayton, Oregon, that produces premium quality vegetable and fruit products. Smith, who served as AFFI chairman over the past year, passed the gavel to Varcoe at the AFFI Annual Meeting and Keynote Breakfast.

The seven board members elected to three-year terms are: Michael Allen of The Kellogg Company; Ricardo Alvarez of Spartan Foods of America Inc.; Paul Bakus of Nestle Pizza; Angelo Fallucca of Palermo Villa Inc.; John Geocaris of Little Lady Foods Inc.; James Matthews of H.J. Heinz Company; and Rob McCutcheon of ConAgra Foods Inc. These seven newly-elected directors join an AFFI Board of Directors comprised of 16 frozen food industry leaders.

«On behalf of the American Frozen Food Institute, the only national association dedicated solely to the interests of the entire frozen food industry, I am honoured to welcome the election of these frozen food industry leaders», said AFFI President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz. «Each individual brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, which will assist AFFI in serving its diverse and growing ranks of more than 500 members representing every facet of the frozen food industry».