Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 6)

LETTER FROM SFA SINGLETON DEMPSEY Chairman's Introduction I n 1993 at my first SNAXPO in Nashville, I wondered what it would be like to serve as chairman of the Snack Food Association. Now, I have that honor, and I relish the opportunities and challenges it presents. The most important functions of SFA are to strongly and effectively represent our industry in Washington, defend against harmful legislative and regulatory initiatives and promote positive proposals that can benefit our industry. In that respect, as you know, the challenges are many. This November voters will go to the polls to choose members of the US House of Representatives and Senate, and what they decide will determine the makeup of Congress and whether or not a majority of those who serve are pro-business. For every company in our industry, that is a critically important decision. SFA's SnackPAC was established to support candidates who share our views and who are sympathetic to our concerns. I believe in the importance of SnackPAC and that it can, and should, play a stronger role than ever. Every member of SFA should support this effort. It is an investment in good government, and it's one way you can help your industry and, indeed, free your own company of unnecessary restrictions and costs imposed by an overly aggressive federal government. To learn more, contact SFA. - Mark Singleton, Chairman, Snack Food Association; President, Rudolph Foods, Inc. Making a Difference S FA recently completed a very successful Legislative Summit with its members and their legislators in Washington, DC. More than 35 members completed more than 70 individual meetings with their House and Senate representatives as well as leadership and committee offices that work on SFA's policy priorities. This was a significant increase over last year's attendance, and it enabled SFA to reach more than 25 additional key legislators on issues critical to the industry. This issue of Snack World will go into more detail on the "day in DC" events and the issues we carried to Capitol Hill. However, I need to highlight one where the timing could not have been better. The GMO labeling issue at the state level has been a top priority for some time. A patchwork of state laws and regulations would cause most of our members great difficulty and expense in packaging and marketing. On April 9, our day to visit The Hill, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) introduced a bill that would replace this patchwork of state initiatives with a federal solution to labeling, as well as direct the Food and Drug Administration to define the term "natural." You will read more on the bill specifics through our Snack Report, Executive Insights and Action Alerts. A special thanks to those members who participated in this year's summit. Your personal stories truly have an impact. We hope you plan to attend next year and encourage your colleagues who have never participated to join us. - Thomas Dempsey, President and CEO, Snack Food Association 6 Snack World May 2014 www.sfa.org http://www.sfa.org

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Snack World - May 2014