67th Annual Food Shippers Conference

On March 5-7, nearly 1,400 professionals with responsibilities or interests in the food supply chain gathered in Palm Desert, Calif. for the 67th Annual Food Shippers Conference. The event, hosted at the JW Marriott Palm Desert Resort, included networking, education, significant discussions around opportunities and challenges facing the industry. “The 2023 conference was a sellout crowd with record attendance by our member companies,” says Paul Newbourne, Executive Director of Food Shippers of America. “Based on the feedback we have received, the educational and networking programs were a positive experience and deemed effective by all attendees. Overall,

Food Shippers of America is pleased that our members and their suppliers continue to find our annual conference a great investment.”

The event kicked off with preconference activities on Sunday, March 5 that included a golf graband-go breakfast, a golf tournament shotgun start, a welcome luncheon, an interactive workshop, member networking, an autonomous trucking presentation, the 7th Annual Sisters within the Supply Chain Afternoon Tea, the first-time attendee reception, and a welcome reception and buffet dinner.

David Domencic, Director Transportation Procurement for ARMADA Supply Chain Solutions and President of Food Shippers of America (FSA), opened the 67th annual conference and thanked the 2023 conference Co-Chairs Mark Purdy, Director, North America Transportation at General Mills, and Craig Paulsen, Vice President Commercial Development and Sales Intermodal at Schneider, for their hard work in putting together a relevant conference agenda. Steve Stein, Senior Manager Transportation of Danone North America also announced the recipients of the 2023 John J. Murphy Scholarships.

Keynote Speaker Daymond

John, a businessman, investor, television personality, author, and motivational speaker, started the conference Monday morning. John is well-known as the Founder,

President, CEO of FUBU and star from ABC’s Shark Tank reality television show. He shared his philosophy and business practices that helped him achieve personal and professional success.

Attendees heard from multiple industry experts on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the supply chain, traditional versus digital brokerage, supply chain technology, and making sense of an uncertain future. The first day of the conference wrapped up with a cocktail reception, annual banquet event, and a dessert reception.

Purdy and Paulsen started Tuesday with a recap of the opening day’s key takeaway points followed by Domencic presenting the organization’s annual “Give Back” acknowledgments to Feeding America, FIND Food Bank, and American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN).

Tuesday’s Keynote Speaker was NFL Player and Super Bowl Champion Andrew Whitworth, who talked about his success in the NFL, and his milestones of being the oldest tackle in NFL history and oldest offensive lineman to win a Super Bowl. He also was named the 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. He highlighted how the principles that guided him can be used every day in business and personal success, and underscored the importance of giving back to the community.

Another session highlighted the unlikely journey of Stephanie Stuckey who stepped away from her career as a lawyer, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Director of Sustainability for Southface, and Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Atlanta to buy back her family’s old company and rebrand the roadside oasis, Stuckey’s. The day closed with an annual economic update with Bob Costello, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the American Trucking Association (ATA).

Thank you to all sponsors, speakers, and attendees for their participation and support of our 67th Annual Food Shippers of America Conference.