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Pear Bureau Announces "Pear Up" Contest Winners
Grocery Headquarters Staff
January 1, 2018
3 Min Read
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First place winner in the 10 cash register category: Dan Atkinson, Hy-Vee, Iowa City, Iowa[/caption] Pear Bureau Northwest is pleased to announce the 40 winners of its inaugural “Pear Up with USA Pears” display contest. The contest invited all retailers from across the U.S. and Canada to build an eye-catching display that features Green Anjou, Red Anjou and Bosc pears at minimum, with inclusion of other varieties of USA Pears being encouraged. “We received hundreds of truly impressive, very competitive entries that showed outstanding creativity in merchandising pears. Because pears are a high impulse purchase item, these eye-catching displays drew shoppers in and participating retailers reported that they boosted their pear sales,” Cristie Mather, director of communications for the Pear Bureau Northwest. The winners for the 1–5 cash registers category are: 1st Place: Shiela Burt, Mike’s Food Center, St. Charles, Minn. 2nd Place: Kelly Kesler, Kesler’s Market, Blackfoot, Idaho 3rd Place: Leslie MacAulay, Sackville Co-op Food Market, Sackville, NB, Canada Honorable Mentions:
Rex Titch, TOPS Markets, Waterford, Penn.
Christopher Vorhies, Leon’s Gourmet Grocer, Lincoln, Neb.
Efren Pinera, Hilltop Red Apple, Seattle, Wash.
Donald Oberg, Donelan’s Supermarkets, Lincoln, Mass.
Craig Alley, Ideal Grocery, Lincoln, Neb.
Susann Kotarba, Harding’s Friendly Markets, Eau Claire, Mich.
Dan Vanauker, TOPS Markets, Ontario, N.Y.
Lauren Lyons, Creekside Co-op, Elkins Park, Penn.
Michelle Heneby, Marvin’s Food Stores, Dewey, Okla.
Patsy Frazier, Homeland, Shawnee, Okla.
The winners for the 6 - 9 cash registers category are: 1st Place (TIE – a $1,000 prize for each): Michael Callahan, Ray’s Food Place, McKinleyville, Calif. 1st Place (TIE – a $1,000 prize for each): Eric Dodge, Hy-Vee, Waterloo, Iowa 2nd Place: Mike Viers, Food Giant, Jackson, Tenn. 3rd Place: David Dozier, GFF Foods, Moore, Okla. Honorable Mentions:
Judy Gauthier, Buy-Low Foods, Athabasca, AB, Canada
Michael Garrett, Rosauers Supermarkets, Yakima, Wash.
Al Polard, Chuck’s Produce and Street Market, Vancouver, Wash.
Jason Richards, Nature’s Pantry, Independence, Mo.
Brian Metcalfe, Marsh Supermarkets, Carmel, Ind.
Derek Christensen, The Port Townsend Food Co-op, Port Townsend, Wash.
Joe Ruiz, Ray’s Food Place, Cloverdale, Calif.
Mike Midura, Fresh Acres Market, Springfield, Mass.
Davi Andre, Sprouts, San Diego, Calif.
Dennis Houghton, Sprouts, San Antonio, Texas
The winners for the 10 or more cash registers category are: 1st Place: Dan Atkinson, Hy-Vee, Iowa City, Iowa 2nd Place: John Sherman, Hy-Vee, Council Bluffs, Iowa 3rd Place: Josh Pederson, Hy-Vee, Winona, Minn. Honorable Mentions:
Derek Perisho, Hy-Vee, Olathe, Kan.
Kelsey Bartels, Martin’s IGA Plus, Effingham, Ill.
Brad Franklin, TOPS Markets, Towanda, Penn.
Jessica Granier, Rouse’s Market, Thibodaux, La.
Andy Crane, Chuck’s Produce and Street Market, Vancouver, Wash.
Brandon Everett, Rouses Market, Slidell, La.
John Braun, Rouses Market, Covington, La.
Mario DeCaro, TOPS Market, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
John Hugger, Rouses Market, Metairie, La.
Bryan Burch, Hy-Vee, Kansas City, Mo.
“We are pleased to have had such enthusiastic participation in this first year of our national display contest, and we are grateful to all the produce departments nationwide who create beautiful pear displays all throughout pear season,” adds Mather. Entries were judged on a 100 point scale for appearance, creativity, and educational impact. Ten bonus points were added to entries that included any of the jumbo size pears that have been readily available this pear season. As recognition for their participation, all who entered were awarded a gift card for Amazon.com valued at $20. To qualify for the contest, the display was required to be maintained for at least one week during the February - March timeframe. First, second and third place winners plus ten honorable mentions were named in three store categories (1–5 cash registers, 6–9 cash registers and 10 cash registers), and a tie for first place resulted in one extra winner, for a total of 40 cash prizes being awarded. Winners in each store category have received: $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place, $500 for third place and $150 each for 10 honorable mentions. For photos of the winning entries, visit www.usapears.org/displaycontest.aspx.
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