November 2015
Posted: November 2, 2015
A Message from Your Industry Representative,
SNA had a busy first week of November hosting three meetings just outside Washington, D.C.
The Industry Advisory Council met Monday. Their discussions included a number of important topics including state conference challenges, ethics in procurement and our upcoming conferences.
The Patron meeting was held on Tuesday with over 40 Patrons in attendance. There were many great discussions and an awesome director’s panel to name just a few of the highlights.
The newly formed Procurement Task Force headed by president-elect Becky Domokos-Bays assembled Wednesday and Thursday. It was an excellent exchange identifying the timelines and elements of procurement in child nutrition. The 23 task force members were engaged and focused on improving procurement procedures. Many challenges and flawed practices were uncovered. In the coming months you will hear more detail on this matter.
A few conference changes for 2016 were shared during these meetings as well. First, the SNIC agenda has been finalized and looks to be one of the strongest ever. You won’t want to miss attending this year. Secondly, we learned about LAC changes for 2016. Moving forward LAC will end Tuesday. This will allow attendees to head out Tuesday evening after their Hill visits, reducing expenses for one less hotel night and meals. Sunday morning there will be a two-part Industry Exchange; our plan is to have at least one director panel. The Capitol Steps will perform during the opening luncheon Sunday and political analyst Amy Walter will be the keynote speaker. The Monday luncheon will now be for all attendees and there will no longer be the separate industry lunch session.
Sincerely,
Gary D. Vonck
SNA Industry Representative
Published in – Industry Insider: News from SchoolNutrition.org – November, 2015
About the Author:
Gary Vonck
VP - Education Division
Gary Vonck has been with KeyImpact since 2007, adding to an impressive 40-year foodservice career. His knowledge and passion for child nutrition are unsurpassed. Gary oversees the Education Division, which includes sales, bid, and commodity teams across the entire nation.
Gary is an active member of the SNA and was the first and only broker/agency representative on the School Nutrition Association’s Industry Advisory Board, as the appointed Industry Representative, in 2008 and again 2014. Gary has also served on numerous SNA Task Forces and co-chaired several SNA events. Gary was also on the NSFMI national advisory council. In January 2013, Gary was awarded the Silver Friend of Child Nutrition FAME Award.
Gary Vonck is based in Illinois and can be reached at gvonck@kisales.com.