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Named 2007 GRAND Pioneer Award Winners (Washington, D.C. — April 23, 2007) Publix Super Markets, Inc., Davisco Foods International, Inc. and Kemps, LLC were named the 2007 recipients of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) GRAND Pioneer Awards at the association's board of directors' meeting today in Dana Point, Calif. The GRAND recognition program honors three member companies — one each from the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA) — for their political involvement activities on priority dairy issues. "It's important that IDFA members get the recognition they deserve for their efforts on behalf of the industry," said Chip Kunde, IDFA senior vice president, "and the GRAND Pioneer Awards are an excellent way to highlight their involvement." IDFA's Grass Roots Action Network for Dairy (GRAND) program helps member companies to learn about priority dairy issues and build relationships with their legislators.
Publix Super Markets, Inc. received the 2007 MIF GRAND Pioneer Award for proactively reaching out to members of its congressional delegations. "IDFA staff reports that you can't go into a congressional office in Washington for a member of the Florida or Georgia delegations and not hear a recount of their love for Publix and the positive interaction they have had with the company," said MIF Chairman Brian Haugh at the awards presentation. Publix reached its goal of building solid relationships on Capitol Hill by writing letters and contacting congressional leaders on important industry issues and by hosting facility tours.
The 2007 NCI GRAND Pioneer Award was presented to Davisco Foods International, Inc. for its effective communications with legislators during the recent review of make allowances under the Federal Milk Marketing Orders. As a major part of its grassroots strategy, Davisco created opportunities for employee to interact with local, state and federal lawmakers through plant and facility tours. "Davisco's grassroots advocacy has been a family affair; Jon, Mark, Marty and Mitch have all answered the call. They have testified before Congress during the debates of the Farm Bill and lent their voices to our efforts in the media, penning op-eds about forward contracting and dairy reform," said NCI Chairman Kevin Ponticelli at the awards presentation. Davisco has been one of the industry's loudest voices on the urgent need to update the make allowances. The company also brings senior managers to Washington to deliver messages on a variety of key dairy issues and to attend IDFA's Washington Conference.
The 2007 IICA GRAND Pioneer Award was presented to Kemps, LLC for making grassroots advocacy a core part of its company mission. The individual advocacy efforts by President and CEO Jim Green, who is also IICA chairman, were key to the selection of Kemps as the 2007 winner. Green traveled to Washington several times to testify before Congress and meet with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administration officials. He also often gave personal tours of Kemps' facilities to elected officials. "Jim Green is a great ambassador for the industry, and Kemps has made a commitment from which all IICA members are benefiting," said Connie Tipton, IDFA president and CEO, at the awards presentation.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org
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