IFBA Summit Draws 300 Attendees

MARK HAMSTRA

LAS VEGAS — The Independent Food Brokers of America Top to Top Executive Conference here last month attracted more than 300 attendees, the most in the association's five-year history, according to Jim Hall, IFBA chairman and president of Riteway Sales & Marketing, Lakeland, Fla.

The association now has 84 brokers as members, including nine Canadian companies, five of which have joined in the past year. The conference also had a 64% increase in attendance by manufacturers, Hall said, encompassing 14 new companies.

The association had debated the previous year whether to relocate the conference to Las Vegas to dovetail with the Food Marketing Institute Show, which relocated to Las Vegas this year after a long run in Chicago.

“We were very concerned last year,” Hall told IFBA attendees during the keynote session at Caesars Palace. “Should we follow FMI? We talked it over and decided to come here, and it's worked out real well.”

Among the new initiatives IFBA is looking into is the creation of some white papers on best practices in the industry, he said.

Hall also recognized Chip O'Hare, founding chairman of IFBA and president of Johnson, O'Hare, Billerica, Mass., for his work in getting IFBA started.