LAS VEGAS, NV—The Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) honored a host of members and partners from across the globe at the IGA Awards of Excellence Ceremony during The NGA Show on Monday, March 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
IGA presented awards to independent grocery retailers and CPG and service provider partners that highlighted a range of best practices and innovations, including excelling in fresh food merchandising and overall innovation.
Red Oval Partners of the Year
IGA honored two Red Oval Partners with awards for their exceptional service and dedication to the IGA retailers over the last year. BRdata, a trusted software partner for retailers seeking a complete end-to-end solution from the wholesaler to the consumer, and Nestlé Purina PetCare received Red Oval Partner awards for 2024.
CEO Award
IGA CEO John Ross presented the inaugural CEO Award, bestowed upon an Independent Grocers Alliance member going above and beyond to make positive change within the Alliance and the communities they serve, to Jimmy Wright.
“Despite having a thriving grocery business of his own to run, Jimmy Wright has made it his mission to do everything in his power to help independent retailers address food insecurity, from offering his insights on pricing strategies for economically challenged communities and helping small-format independents in urban and rural areas get established, to fighting for food nutrition legislation that benefits at-risk families and evens the playing field for independents,” said Ross.
IGA USA Retailers of the Year
They also presented IGA USA Retailer of the Year awards to nine retailers for their exemplary work in the grocery industry over the past year.
“This year’s group of Retailers of the Year have developed stores that I want down the street from my home,” Ross said during the ceremony. “And I’m thrilled to share what they’re doing with everyone here tonight so we can recognize them publicly and leave here inspired with new ideas.”
Each of these U.S. Retailers of the Year were put forward by their wholesalers as their top retailers.
“There are 30,000 independent grocery stores in the U.S. — we represent one-third of the U.S. grocery market. These nine retailers have been chosen to represent not only their wholesaler, but their communities,” Ross said.
These Retailers of the Year received additional awards for their outstanding service and were welcomed to the stage by Ross, IGA Chairman Mark Batenic, and Host Michael Sansolo.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Innovation Award
- John & Chad Cropper | Crop’s Fresh Marketplace | Downingtown, PA
- This award commemorates John and Chad Cropper as top independent grocers in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes their commitment to innovation.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & People Development Award
- Debbie Jacques Malone | KJ’s Market | Greenwood, SC
- This award commemorates Debbie Jacques Malone as a top independent grocer in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes her excellence in people development.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Meat Merchandising Award
- Dan Holt & Joe Lauria | Holt’s IGA | Fayetteville, TN
- This award commemorates Dan Holt and Joe Lauria as top independent grocers in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes their excellence in meat merchandising.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Quality & Value Award
- Tim Forshee | Price Less IGA #484 | Bowling Green, KY
- This award commemorates Tim Forshee as a top independent grocer in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizing his store’s excellence in value without compromise.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & the Ricky St. John Taking Care of People Award
- Rob Hilleary | Pocahontas IGA | Marlinton, WV
- This award commemorates Rob Hilleary as a top independent grocer in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes his excellence in taking care of people in his store and community.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Hometown Hero Award
- Jim Floyd, Bruce Westre, & Bud Samuelson | Hammer & Wikan | Petersburg, AK
- This award commemorates Floyd, Westre, and Samuelson as top independent grocers in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes their Hometown Proud commitment to community.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Fresh Merchandising Award
- Ben Painter & Greg Wasley | SPD Markets | Grass Valley, CA
- This award commemorates Painter and Wasley as top independent grocers in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes their excellence in fresh category merchandising.
IGA USA Retailer of the Year & Leadership Award
- Jeff & Kristie Maurer | Maurer’s Market IGA | Wisconsin Dells, WI
- This award commemorates Jeff and Kristie Maurer as top independent grocers in the U.S. for 2024 and recognizes their enduring commitment to leadership within their community and IGA as a whole.
IGA International Retailers of the Year
Also in attendance were retailers from Australia and South Africa who had won International Retailer of the Year for their respective countries:
- 2024 IGA Australia International Retailers of the Year Spero Tsapaliaris and Philip Funnell | Saints Foodland | South Australia | Metcash Food
- 2024 IGA South Africa International Retailers of the Year Abu Khatib and Suhail Bayat | Super Save Foodtown Hyper | KwaZulu-Natal | Unitrade Management Service (UMS)
The final award of the night went to Judy and Don Gabriele, who were named IGA USA International Retailer of the Year. Their store, Nemenz IGA in Struthers, Ohio, is served by Laurel Grocery Company.
“Nemenz IGA is truly a festival of food,” Ross said. “The bakery is one of the best you’ll see anywhere, with handmade packzis for Mardi Gras and cakes made by one of their 30 bakery employes. But it’s more than just one department that makes Nemenz one of the finest grocery stores in the world. It’s custom local products, like the store-ground sausage made from a family recipe that local Italian restaurants use and customers drive from neighboring states to buy; it’s their creative events, like, ‘Sip and Decorate’ evenings where shoppers learn how to decorate a themed cake while sipping on a glass of wine; it’s their commitment to community through tens of thousands of dollars of donations to local organizations every year; and an artisan approach to food without artisan pricing.”
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT GROCERS ALLIANCE
The Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) was founded in 1926, bringing together independent grocers across the United States to ensure that the trusted, family-owned local grocery store remained strong in the face of growing chain competition. IGA is the world’s largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of over $43 billion per year. The Alliance includes more than 6,200 stores globally, with operations in 46 of the United States and over 25 countries, commonwealths, and territories.
For more information on the Independent Grocers Alliance, visit corporate.iga.com.
