IBIE 2022 09 20 - 3

IBIE TUESDAY
MILESTONES CELEBRATED AT IBIE 2022
ABA, Sosland Publishing and WFC reach 125, 100 and 50 years.
AT IBIE 2022, many organizations
in the baking industry are marking
major milestones. In 2022,
the American Bakers Association
(ABA, Booth No. WL2) reached
125 years, Sosland Publishing Co.
(Booth No. 2525) celebrated its centennial
and the Wheat Foods Council
(WFC) marked 50 years of educating
the public on wheat foods.
IBIE itself reached its 100th year in
2020, which was celebrated at the
2019 Expo.
ABA officially celebrated its
anniversary at the ABA Convention
held earlier this year, but attendees
at IBIE can enjoy cookies
with the 125th anniversary logo at
the ABA booth.
" ABA was founded to instill
confidence and create trust with
consumers. Issues like safety, accurate
labeling and healthy ingredients
were key topics 125 years
ago, " said Robb MacKie, president
and chief executive officer of ABA.
" ABA has been, and will continue to
be, the forum for the baking industry
to join together to strengthen
and grow while remaining true to
its founding principles. "
Sosland Publishing was founded
in 1922 with its publication The
Southwestern Miller. The company
has expanded its media offerings to
cover the wider grain-based foods
industry as well as the dairy, meat
SOSLAND PUBLISHING
years
and poultry, and pet food categories.
" The ABA was celebrating its
Sosland Publishing hosted a party celebrating its centennial on Sunday after the show floor closed.
25th anniversary the year Sosland
Publishing was founded, and bakers
- ABA's membership - have been
a core part of our audience from
our company's start, " said Meyer
Sosland, chief operating officer and
executive editor of Sosland Publishing.
" It is the relationships with the
professionals of the baking, milling
and allied industries that enabled
the founders to sustain their venture,
and it is those relationships
that enable us to be here today. "
Sosland Publishing hosted its
centennial party at IBIE 2022, Sunday,
Sept. 18, after the show floor
closed.
" Being able to celebrate this
milestone for Sosland Publishing
with our industry colleagues is
very special and deeply meaningful
for us, " Mr. Sosland said.
WFC celebrated its 50th anniversary
with an event Monday,
Sept. 19, featuring YouTube baking
chef Gemma Stafford live-streaming
demonstrations from the event.
" For more than 50 years, the
Wheat Foods Council has developed
sound educational and nutritional
programs to increase the
demand for wheat foods, correct
misinformation and debunk fad
diets, " said Tim O'Connor, president,
WFC. " Today, WFC uniquely
remains an organization whose
membership encompasses the entire
wheat foods value chain, including
state wheat commissions
and associations, millers, bakers,
ingredient and life science companies,
and others. " *
- Charlotte Atchley, Baking & Snack
understanding the 'why' in your dei
Determining the 'whys' behind DEI helps companies launch diversity programs.
THE STEADY GROWTH of corporate diversity,
equity and inclusion (DEI)
initiatives over the past several
years was highlighted in the IBIE
2022 session " How to Start Building
Your Diversity Initiative: Best
Practices from Industry Peers, "
presented Monday, Sept. 19, and cosponsored
by the American Bakers
Association (ABA) and BEMA.
The panel featured Nathan
Norris, director of DEI for Highland
Baking Co.; Christy Pettey, chief people
officer, Kwik Lok Corp.; and Felisa
Stockwell, vice president, global
people and culture for Dawn Foods.
The discussion was moderated by
Emily Bowers, vice president, education
and operations, BEMA.
" Over the past year, both ABA
and BEMA have developed working
groups and task forces to address
this issue and improve and
increase the communication about
it in our industry, and we decided
that IBIE was the perfect place to
bring those two groups together
and have a conversation all as one, "
Ms. Bowers said.
According to an April 2022
ABA study, 65% of companies today
have DEI initiatives in place, while
19% plan to implement such a program
in 2022. In addition, 44% of
companies provide DEI training to
employees; 26% plan to implement a
program by the end of the year.
Mr. Norris noted that his company
is at the beginning of its DEI
process, having initiated it about a
year ago.
" For us, we looked at our 'why'
we wanted to start this DEI journey, "
Mr. Norris said. " Based off of that, we
were able to start putting together
some initiatives and objectives to
address and correct some concerns
brought up from our employee climate
survey. "
To generate employee buy-in
the panelists
to such programs,
stressed the importance of listening
to and engaging with workers
to participate in their company's respective
DEI initiatives. Ms. Pettey
referenced Kwik Lok's creation of
an employee steering committee to
help push employee involvement,
while Ms. Stockwell stressed the
importance of securing support
from senior leadership.
Although the panelists encountered
a few pleasant surprises
after implementing DEI programs
- Mr. Norris noted an increase in
employee retention after Highland
Baking launched its first diversity
and inclusion program about a
year ago - the speakers also faced
a few challenges. Ms. Pettey was
confronted with strong pushback
from many employees, particularly
from longtime workers not used to
change of any sort.
Although all three stressed the
importance of working to develop
and curate internal candidates,
they also suggested that organizations
not overlook the rich talent
pool that sometimes exists outside
a company's four walls. Ms. Pettey
stressed that sometimes quality
candidates don't have baking industry
experience but might have
transferable skills that would make
them a fit for certain jobs. *
- Dan Malovany and Keith Moore,
Baking & Snack
September 20, 2022 | 3

IBIE 2022 09 20

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