Many store owners from members of Associated Food Stores and team members from Associated Retail Operations and AFS participated in the Utah Food Industry Association’s (UFIA) annual conference this week at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, Utah. During the conference, Monte Peterson, chairman of the board for Peterson’s Market, was inducted into UFIA’s Hall of Fame. As part of the recognition, UFIA created a video about Monte, his family and the business they created. It can be viewed below.
As the conference began, Dave Davis, president and chief legal officer for UFIA, shared an update on the association’s operations over the past year. Dave began by expressing gratitude to members of the group for their support. He also reported on activities with the state legislature. Dave tracked over 60 bills that dealt with the grocery industry and advocated on behalf of local food providers and retailers.
One of the topics Dave addressed was being “lazer focused” on pharmacies and the challenges pharmacies face. Dave also encouraged association members to connect with others who could benefit from being part of the group. Dave shared that Brandon Peterson, from Peterson’s market, was named chair of the UFIA’s executive committee. Monte and Brandon make up the first “father and son” to both chair the UFIA board.
Following Dave, Keynote Speaker Kevin Paul Scott addressed the attendees. His presentation, titled “Cultivating a Culture of Inspiration” encouraged association members to lead and motivate their teams by fostering, finding and fueling inspiration. Scott encouraged leaders to focus on constant improvement and built recommendations based on Chick-fil-A’s founder S. Truett Cathy’s words, “If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.”
Kasey Lobaugh, Chief Consumer Industry Futurist and Senior Principle in Deloitte Consulting’s Consumer Industry practice also spoke to the UFIA members. He shared six forces shaping the future of the consumer industry and talked about the technological, demographic and other changes that will impact the future of the grocery industry.
The last portion of the conference was dedicated to the state-level best bagger competition. Baggers from around the state participated in a competitive and energy filled event. See accompanying story.