BEMA’s meetings are impacting more members every year. At the 2016 Winter Summit, held February 27-28, we welcomed 28 first-time attendees, the most ever for this event. They attended at the recommendation of colleagues and to connect more with others in the industry.
This year’s Winter Summit delivered networking and education in an efficient one-day schedule. The focus of the meeting were informational sessions on IBIE and BIF and a preview of the April Strategic Project Management workshop.
IBIE Chairman, Mike Cornelis (American Pan), along with Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes and Jacquelyn Wells (MDG) and Kerwin Brown, BEMA, President/CEO, delivered an in depth update on IBIE 2016 as well as a report on how IBIE will deliver more customers than ever to the show and how exhibitors can attract those attendees to their booths. http://www.ibie2016.com/exhibitor-resources/
Winter Summit attendees got involved in selecting a topic for the Baking Industry Form (BIF) to research and present on at BEMA’s Annual Meeting in June. BIF asked members in attendance to vote on three topics via live poll. Mike Fronczak (Dawn Foods) and Nick Magistrelli (Rademaker USA) described three topics: millennials in the workforce, the impact of the Food Safety & Modernization Act (FSMA) on BEMA members and improving changeover efficiency; the audience overwhelmingly selected FSMA Impact. BIF will research and gather resources on FSMA and specify how the new laws which go into effect in September will impact food producers’ equipment and ingredient needs.
Winter Summit also featured a preview of the BEMA-U Strategic Project Management workshop coming April 4-6. BEMA’s partner for this workshop, Charles “Chaz” Campbell of AfterBurner, presented an overview of the Flawless Execution model which will be the centerpiece of the April workshop. Through a military context, he introduced models for developing mission planning and debriefing to incorporate best practices into your own business systems.
The one-day schedule incorporated networking opportunities for first timers and long timers alike including a welcome reception, first time attendee dinner and luncheon. The first-time attendees discovered what active BEMA members appreciate most describing BEMA as “a very dynamic group” and “a great place to build long term relationship.”
Source: BEMA