Washington, DC – The National Confectioners Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 Confectionery Leadership Awards. The awards celebrate the recipients' contributions to the category through their effective business collaboration, category management best practices, and innovations in merchandising confectionery products in-store.
The following individuals were nominated by industry colleagues and then carefully selected as recipients by NCA members based on their creativity, innovative thinking, and leadership and support with the category:
Tim Erceg
Purchasing Specialist
Hy-Vee, Inc.
Jamal Parker
Sr. Buyer Candy & Snacks
Sam's Club
“This award recognizes and rewards the talent and dedication of the industry's trade customers who go above and beyond expectations," says NCA President Larry Graham. "There were so many deserving and worthy candidates submitted, but the members felt that Erceg and Parker are truly pioneers who exemplify the visionary thinking required to bring value to and propel the category forward."
Parker, who earlier this year told Candy & Snack TODAY that his goal is always to better serve Sam's Club members, says, "working in our industry has been a great experience, and it is the people who have made the difference."
Erceg shares this sentiment, thanking Hy-Vee's business partners and associates "who ultimately have made the confectionery category one of the top performing categories at Hy-Vee."
NCA, in collaboration with Candy & Snack TODAY magazine, created the awards program in 2011 to recognize and honor the confectionery industry’s best and most innovative category champions and leaders. The program allows NCA manufacturers and brokers to recognize outstanding retailers and wholesalers in the confectionery community for their effective customer marketing, shopper-driven shelving practices, and promotion of new items.
Erceg and Parker will be presented with their awards in Miami at NCA’s annual State of the Industry Conference, March 2-5, 2014.
About the National Confectioners Association (NCA)
The National Confectioners Association fosters industry growth by advancing the interests of the confectionery industry and its customers. Serving as the voice of the industry, the Association advocates for the needs of the industry before government bodies, helps the industry understand and implement food safety and other regulations, provides information to help members strengthen business in today's competitive environment and creates relationships between all sectors of the industry including manufacturers, brokers, trade customers, suppliers to the industry and our consumers.
Source: National Confectioners Association (NCA)
