More SEPC speakers to grab your attention

Sarah Frey, Patrick Kelly, Anne-Marie Roerink and Rick Stein are speakers at the Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure conference.
Sarah Frey, Patrick Kelly, Anne-Marie Roerink and Rick Stein are speakers at the Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure conference.
(Photos and graphic courtesy Southeast Produce Council; compilation graphic by Amy Sowder)

Besides a great location, seeing familiar and new faces and gaining new business, conference attendees want to be entertained and educated.

We want to learn something new, in a fun way.

Organizers of the hybrid Southeast Produce Council Southern Roots conference have provided just that with their lineup of experts, in addition to keynote speaker Duncan Wardle, a former Disney executive and creativity guru.

First, the Southern Roots event for women will feature Sarah Frey of Keenes, Ill.-based Frey Farms, a certified woman-owned business she founded in 1992.

Along with four brothers, Frey operates the farms and facilities in seven states, distributing fresh fruits and vegetables nationwide, serving the nation’s top 25 retail chains.

With a mission to end food waste in the fresh produce industry, the family makes natural food products and beverages from imperfect or ugly fruit, such as the beverages and fresh juices under the Sarah’s Homegrown and Tsamma Watermelon Juice brands.

The New York Times described Frey as “the Pumpkin Queen of America” because her company sells more pumpkins than any other U.S. producer.

“Taking risks came very natural to me at a very young age. When I had an idea, I just went for it, and I have a little bit of an obsessive personality,” Frey said at the Women in Produce general session last June during United Fresh LIVE. “And I follow through.”

She is the author of the best-selling book “The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life–and Saved an American Farm”, published by Random House in August 2020.

And soon Frey is co-executive producing the upcoming ABC television series, “The Growing Season,” based on her story.

Then there are the SEPC University educational session speakers:

  • Patrick Kelly: Kelly is a successful entrepreneur, speaker and strategist in the produce and supply chain industry. For more than 15 years, Kelly has focused in improving supply chains for produce partners worldwide, making better deals for growers. He was named the Class of 2015’s Young and Smart Leaders on the Rise, Top 40 under 40 and A Young Entrepreneur. He has dedicated his work to learning and leading all generations to work and thrive together.
  • Anne-Marie Roerink: Roerink is a founder and principal at 210 Analytics LLC, which provides customized research and marketing strategies with a specialty in food retailing for clients such as the Food Marketing Institute and National Grocers Association. Through many studies and presentations, Roerink has developed a perspective on the changing nature of the shopper and the food retailing business. She will offer a diverse and in-depth view on retailing financials, operations and shopper behavior, and how and why these issues are important to various organizations, today and in the future. Before 210 Analytics, Roerink was the head of research for the Food Marketing Institute.
  • Rick Stein: Joining the Food Marketing Institute in 2014, Stein creates services and activities to help members with their fresh food strategies in all categories. Stein spent more than 30 years in retail grocery merchandising and marketing roles. Most recently, he was vice president of retail merchandising and marketing execution for Safeway Stores Inc. He’s also handled Safeway retail store operations, category management, sales, sourcing and strategy. His experience in so many facets of the retail food business helped Safeway to achieve more market share and revenues. Stein graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral and social sciences. He has earned continuing educations credits in marketing, merchandising and management, most recently with the Disney Leadership Institute. Stein also serves on several nonprofit boards, such as the Children’s Cancer Foundation and Easter Seals of Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.

Also, the council revealed the panelists at these sessions led by Kelly, Roerink and Stein.

At the "It's Not, Personal, It's Generational!" session led by Kelly, the panel includes Mason Goolsby, Clark Roper, Dave Verdrager, Lucretia Parrish and Joe McGee.

At the Power of Produce 2021 session led by Roerink and moderated by Stein, panelists include Gary Baker, Price Mabry and Mike Roberts.

At the STARS breakfast, speakers will be Dan'l Mackey Almy and Wendy McManus.

 

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