GFIA_Vol21No2.indd

E D U C A T I O N F O U N D A T I O N Foundation Trustees Chart a Course to

Fundraising Success! Our convention fundraisers brought in over $55,000 for the Foundation this year! We are so thankful to each of you who donated items to sell, bought tickets, volunteered your time, and shopped at our auction. All proceeds from the Super Raffle, Cash Raffle, and Silent Auction benefit not only our Scholarship Program but also fund many educational and training programs for the food industry.

SILENT AUCTION SALES SOARED We are so thankful to our auction donors this year! They really stepped up to bring over 160 high value and popular items to the silent auction. Many items sold at or above their stated values, and there were quite a few bidding wars on popular items! We sold coolers, iPads, electronics, beach gear, event tickets, theme park tickets, a Simone Biles autographed jacket, autographed football helmets, designer purses, DIY handyman gear, outdoor entertainment items and the breakout hit of the evening - a terracotta tabletop pig grill! Thanks to all of you who donated items or cash, and who purchased items! SUPER RAFFLE PACKAGES WERE A SELLOUT Our Foundation trustees are always looking for new and innovative ideas for fundrais- ing, and this year’s new Super Raffle packages were a big hit with convention attendees.

John Gehring, Publix Super Markets & Bettina Hall, The Kroger Company team up to sell Super Raffle tickets benefitting the GFIA Education Foundation

We are listing the winners for you so you know who will be hosting the best parties this fall –

PRO GRILLING PACKAGE Traeger grill donated by

SUPERMARKET SWEEP Three minute shopping spree Donated by The Kroger Co. & Sparkling Ice Scott Blackwell, Trinchero Family Estates

BACKYARD MOVIE NIGHT Outdoor movie theatre setup Donated by Koch & Assoc., Anheuser-Busch, Wayfield Foods & China Doll / Dixie Lily Marco Antonio Achirica, 2amigos Distribution

Reynolds Foodliner Nathan Wise, Tosca

COOKOUT PARTY PACKAGE reqteq grill, spice rubs, cooler and Durty Gurl Mixers products Babs Paine, Leon Farmer & Co.

STOCK THE BAR Outdoor bar and all the fixins’

Donated by Republic National Distributing Keith Aikman, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers

CASH RAFFLE – STILL A WINNER Traditional cash raffle tickets were sold by trustees before and during the convention. Three lucky winners were drawn - $500 Thursday, $1,000 Friday and $1,500 Saturday.

WINE “PULLS” IN PROFITS The wine pull brings lots of excitement to the

registration area each year as members draw corks to see which wine bottle they have won. We had over 200 bottles of wine this year and sold every one of them – our members love a good bottle of wine!

Gary Rosser of Wise Foods is all smiles as he accepts the cash prize at Saturday night’s dinner

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“The Voice of the Food Industry in Georgia”