It gives me great pleasure to write to you as your new president of the Retail Bakers of America. My acceptance of the roll of the president reflects my sincere belief that a strong RBA is essential for our industry. I want to begin by thanking our past president Ken Downey, the board, and staff for the time they've put in to help the RBA become strong and sustainable once again. We wouldn't be in the growth position we are in today without Ken's leadership and the board's determination to make the RBA successful. I am proud to say that our current board of directors and staff are all on board with progressive, forward thinking ideas and the energy to make the RBA better than ever.
The past few years the board of directors spent most of our time talking about the needs of retail bakeries. The strategic planning sessions, emergency meetings, tons of conference calls, and those rare heated moments have really paid off. We made the decision to keep the RBA's focus on education and certification. Our Roadshows are a gathering of educational workshops given by some of the top leaders in the industry, bakery tours (who doesn't love to see behind the scenes at someone else's shop?) and vendor display tables. It's a full day of networking, learning, and fun. I'm happy to say they are a smashing success! Certification is picking up steam. We've got some wonderful people on the committee dedicated to making sure the certificate is relevant and advantageous.
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