Individual & team commitment to food-away-from-home to be recognized 


CHICAGO, October 28, 2024 — The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) will be presenting awards to eight food-away-from-home champions during the association’s 2024 Presidents Conference in Scottsdale, AZ.

The conference brings executives from the food industry together each year to collaborate on industry-wide issues, share insights, and identify best practices in leadership. IFMA's industry awards recognize outstanding leaders whose efforts have benefitted the association and foodservice. The awards will be presented Monday night, November 4, 2024.

“IFMA is proud to honor these individuals for their unwavering dedication to our association and the entire food away from home community,” IFMA President & CEO Phil Kafarakis stated. “As an association, we have been reinventing ourselves recently to better meet the needs of our complex industry ecosystem and we couldn’t succeed without the leadership and enthusiasm of extraordinary supporters like those selected for awards this year. I look forward to congratulating them at the Presidents Conference awards reception.”

Recipients include:

The IFMA Key Person Award honors individual IFMA manufacturer members who have an exceptional record of activity and commitment to the association.

 

   

Teri Trullinger
Group Vice President, Field Sales - Cargill Foodservice

 


Trullinger is being honored for her dedicated service on the IFMA Board of Directors since 2016. She co-chaired the board’s DEI Taskforce, served on the CEO Search Committee, and played an instrumental role in helping develop IFMA’s new brand identity. Trullinger will serve as 2025 Chair of the IFMA Board.

 



The IFMA Sparkplug Award honors individuals who have made significant impacts on the association’s programs through board and/or committee involvement.


Nancy Kruse
President, The Kruse Company

Kruse has served as a volunteer chair of the selection jury of IFMA’s Gold & Silver Plate Awards program for many years. Her fairmindedness, generosity, and commitment to the awards have ensured they remain the most prestigious recognition in foodservice.

 

The IFMA Brand Task Force - Kristin Bird, T. Marzetti Foodservice; Herb Ring, The Hershey Company; Hugh Roth, PepsiCo Inc.; Fleur Veldhoven, Nestle Professional Solutions; Tim Wayne, J.M. Smucker Company; Ben Wexler, Custom Culinary Inc.  

These six individuals, all members of the board of directors, worked tirelessly to bring the association’s new brand identity to life. After the board set a new strategic direction for IFMA in 2023, the Brand Taskforce took the lead to create a brand that both honors the organization’s long legacy of achievement and recognizes the evolution of the association to serve a larger purpose.

    



The Oberkfell Award
pays tribute to individuals whose leadership has made a major impact on the IFMA organization and the foodservice industry.





Hugh Roth
SVP & Chief Customer and Business Development Officer, PepsiCo Inc.

Roth served on the IFMA Board of Directors from 2017 through this year. He was board chair in 2021. He has actively supported IFMA’s programs and events, even serving as an emcee at the annual Gold & Silver Plate Awards for the past few years. He led the Membership Committee of the board and chaired the IFMA Education Foundation Board of Trustees. His unwavering service to the association is inspirational.



IFMA’s Presidents Conference is open to IFMA members and foodservice operators. 
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