BEMA - June 2018 - 77

Photos courtesy of BEMA

BEMA MEMBERSHIPS

- on BEMA and the industry. "We have so many
more tools in the toolbox today," he said. "We have
ingredient suppliers, service companies, engineering consultants and even the media. We serve as a
one-stop shop for the baking industry."
In its 100th year, BEMA membership stands at
nearly 250 companies.
Matt Zielsdorf, who was 2011-12 chairman, recalled the impact the new face of membership had
on BEMA's contributions to the industry. "It turned
BEMA into an even more customer-centric organization," he said. "Bakers could look at BEMA as
a supporting group that was there to better the industry, and we looked at it holistically. If you own a
bakery, the only people you talk to aren't just the
ones who bend metal and make equipment. You
buy ingredients and use other kinds of services.
And now, these are all a part of this organization."
The change ultimately provided more resources
to provide value to membership from both conFHSWXDO DQG ¿QDQFLDO VWDQGSRLQWV ³,W SXOOHG PRUH
of a cross-section of suppliers to the industry and
brought new ideas to the association," said DJ
LeCrone, president, LeMatic and 2003-04 chairman. "Those ideas created new avenues to grow
EHFDXVH GLႇHUHQW W\SHV RI VXSSOLHUV KDYH WRWDOO\
GLႇHUHQWLGHDV%\H[SDQGLQJRXUPHPEHUVKLSZH
expanded our knowledge base."
,W DOVR SURYLGHG WKH ¿QDQFLDO VWDELOLW\ WR EXLOG D
VWDႇWRIRFXVRQRUJDQLFJURZWKIHGE\WKHZHDOWK
of ideas coming in. "BEMA was able to build a dedicated team, so instead of having volunteers who
can only give part-time to growing the organization,
\RXKDYHDIXOOWDVNIRUFHRXWWKHUHÀ\LQJWKHÀDJ´
Mr. LeCrone said.
Organic growth didn't end there, Mr. Brown noted. Increased resources meant creating more value in events such as the annual summit and convention. "We used to have one or two bakers and a
business speaker at an event. Now, we have more
than 30 bakers and panel discussions," he said.
In BEMA's early years, membership dues provided enough stability to self-sustain. Today, diverse
PHPEHUVKLS DႇRUGV VXVWDLQDELOLW\ DQG JURZWK WR
build programs such as BEMA-U, BEMA Connect
and the Baking Industry Forum, where members
and bakers come together for professional development, business solutions and idea sharing.
"Bakers have busy lives, and when they choose
to participate BEMA events, that says a lot," Mr.
Brown observed. "Bakers need solutions across
the board, and now, we've got it all."
BEMA

&KULVWLQD%HO¿JOLR
(left), Rehrig
3DFL¿FDQG
Monica Kline,
The EnSol Group.

"We have ingredient
suppliers, service
companies, engineering
consultants and even
the media. We serve as
a one-stop shop for the
baking industry."
Kerwin Brown, BEMA

Mark Hotze; Paul
Lattan, Sosland
Publishing
Company; and
Eric Riggle,
Rademaker

www.bema.org | 2018 | BEMA100

http://www.bema.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BEMA - June 2018