Congratulations to Melissa Passalaqua of JOH, who has been awarded the prestigious Harry O’Hare Award for 2015. The honor is presented to the person at JOH who most personifies the values and qualities that marked the life and career of Harry O’Hare, founder of the company. Hard work, integrity, passion, a positive attitude and team spirit are all part of Mr. O’Hare’s personal and professional legacy.
Melissa started her career with JOH as a part-time category analyst and is now the director of category management. “Her infectious smile, can-do attitude and tireless work ethic make Melissa a very special associate and friend to many,” said Matt O’Hare, senior VP, corporate development.
“When our clients are faced with a situation that needs immediate attention and a winning solution, Melissa gets the call. She reacts with a positive attitude and works closely with her team to deliver the results everyone expects. She is highly professional, has an extreme sense of urgency and does not stop until the job is done right,” said John Saidnawey, president and COO. “We are thrilled to have Melissa on our team.”
Kudos to the folks at Giant/Carlisle and Martin’s and all of their customers, who gave generously this holiday season by donating $630,028 to local Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals in their communities. As part of the retailer’s annual “Candles for Kids” campaign, customers could purchase a paper candle at the checkout between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 for $1 each.
“For nearly 20 years, our customers have embraced Giant/Martin’s commitment to help build healthy communities,” said Tom Lenkevich, president of Giant/Carlisle. “Combined with our CMN paper balloon campaign held in June, this year our customers donated more than $1.1 million to support CMN Hospitals in saving lives and bringing health back to children.”
Among the CMN hospitals and communities that benefited from this year’s Candles for Kids campaign were: Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The Janet Weis Children’s Hospital at Geisinger, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Children’s National Medical Center, University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
Since 1996, Giant/Carlisle has raised more than $37 million for CMN Hospitals in communities where it operates. Giant/Carisle is one of the top 10 fundraisers in the country for CMN and ranks second nationwide in per-store fundraising. In addition to conducting annual in-store campaigns, like Candles for Kids, Giant/Carlisle associates also volunteer at CMN Hospital events, including radio and television telethons.
Amazon.com Prime Now customers in Baltimore can now enjoy one-hour delivery from local restaurants, including City Café, HomeSlyce, Indigma, Locust Point Steamers, Matsuri, Shiso Tavern, The Helmand and many more local favorites. Using the Prime Now mobile app, Baltimore customers can view participating restaurants, browse menus, place orders, track the status of their delivery and watch as the driver travels from the restaurant to the delivery address in real time. I wish I lived in a Baltimore zip code!
America’s love affair with spicy flavors will continue in 2016, but with an evolutionary twist that also will
open the door for more multicultural flavors, predicts McCormick & Co. in its annual flavor forecast. Based on analysis of more than 50 products that McCormick will launch in 2016 and its work with customers across the food industry, McCormick predicts that spicy flavors will find “a welcome contrast with tangy accents to elevate the eating experience,” according to the firm.
The tang will come from limes, Meyer lemons, kumquats and cranberry, as ongoing demand for spicy food also will open the door for other distinct flavors from Southeast Asia, including “tropical Asian” flavors from Malaysia and the Philippines.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle had a story about how “the National Museum of American History (located in Washington, DC) opened Wegmans Wonderplace last month as the first National Mall exhibit tailored for children 6 and younger who want to touch, hold and climb their way to learning.”
Wegmans is “underwriting the $1.5 million cost of the exhibit, with a 20-year commitment…The exhibit includes a tugboat, a climbing tower, a small replica of the kitchen used by the late chef Julia Child and a kid-sized farm stand.”
The story notes that “the National Mall exhibit is a marquee philanthropic commitment. The Smithsonian museums, which are free to the public and open 364 days a year, depend heavily on philanthropy to supplement the money they get from Congress. During tourist season, the exhibit is expected to draw families from throughout the nation as well as from abroad.”
The paper also reports that Wegmans “has released a gold anniversary logo to celebrate its 100th year in business, which occurs in 2016.” The company has grown from a single store in Rochester, NY, to an 88-store chain with units in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts, with at least a dozen new stores in the pipeline.
Giant/Landover with Hormel and Acosta recently donated holiday meals to 25 wounded veterans and their families in Central Pennsylvania. Giant also presented a $300,000 check from the Support Our Troops campaign held in-store earlier this year, where customers and associates donated to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).
With this column, I will leave the pages of Food World. I love the food industry of the Mid-Atlantic and all the people involved in it. I have been a part of it since 1978 when Jeff Metzger and I bought Food World and have witnessed a tremendous amount of progress and changes in the marketing of and distribution of food and food products. It has been a wonderful journey and I’m honored to have been a part of it for all those years.
God Bless all of you in the grocery Industry. You are special people and Thank You for all the kindnesses you have shown to me and Kathy over the years. We will never forget you!
And keep on reading and advertising in Food World – it pays big dividends!