EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION WINNERS

THE ILLUMINATORS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

The Illuminator Educational Foundation has distributed over $1,300,000 in scholarships over the years to deserving families within our wonderful industry.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHERE THAT MONEY COMES FROM?

Well, if you have donated an item or purchased item at the silent auction held at WAFC or the CGA Conventions and or attended a Touch Award Dinner … it came from YOU!

All proceeds from the events mentioned above help fund the scholarships, you should be very proud as doner.

On behalf of the Illuminator Education Foundation Board I would like to personally thank Joe Perez and the Illuminators Board for their generous donations to the silent auctions and all that have supported the Illuminator Education Foundation over the years!

Dave Grosse Partner, The Performance Group

DID YOU KNOW?

Paul Christianson was elected and presided as the first President and Chairperson of the Illuminators Educational Foundation in 2007.

THE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE ONLINE Apply Today! Please go to: www.iefscholarships.org

IEF 2021–2022 OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ADVISORS ADMINISTRATOR

2021-2022 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

2021-2022 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Juliana Sandoval — Smart & Final University of California-Davis

Megan Ericksen King Soopers - University of Colorado

Alexandra Miller — Safeway Colorado State University

Chris Mondragon — Tom Thumb University of Texas

Alex Trinh — Stater Bros. Markets University of California-Irvine

Breanne Cox — Winco Foods College of the Siskiyous

Chista Niknam Esfahani — Sprouts Farmers Market San Diego Miramar College Eleni Rodriguez — Smart & Final Saddleback College

Kati Morgan — Performance Group Cerritos College

Octavio Figueroa — Smart & Final Long Beach City College

Aidan Nasser — Smart & Final University of St Thomas

Carolina Gomez — Smart & Final Phoenix College

Christian Benjamin — Niagara San Bernardino Valley College

Fatma Ali — Smart & Final University of California-Los Angeles

Kenneth Chang — Vons University of California-Los Angeles

Andres Ramos — Smart & Final East Los Angeles College

Asusena Soto Flores — Smart & Final California State University-Fullerton Edgar Vargas — Northgate Market Palomar College

Jennifer Ramos Diaz — Northgate Market Johns Hopkins University

Mackenzie Hicks — Smart & Final California State University-Chico

Patricia Martinez — Smart & Final California State University-Sacramento

Samantha Aragon — Smart & Final Orange Coast College

Skylar Sievers — Albertsons San Diego State University

Vanessa Gonzalez — Northgate Gonzalez Mkt. California State University-Long Beach Donate Today!

CLICK ON IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO

2021 ILLUMINATOR MID-YEAR BOARD MEETING

Lori Brown Head of Industry & Customer Development Rosie, an Instacart Company

The 2021 Illuminator Mid-Year Board Meeting was held at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel in Palm Springs prior to the CGA Strategic Conference, 9/23-9/25. Headlite Juan Trillas and his lovely wife Stephanie promised an amazing event and did not disappoint. The festivities kicked off Thursday night at Eight4Nine restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. Amazing dinner with our Illuminator friends, and the evening was just getting started. Following dinner, the crew dispersed, lists in hand, on an epic scavenger hunt. Great opportunity to work off that dessert while searching for Hollywood stars, a dog, Marilyn Monroe, and more. Some decided to take the easy route and just Google the list (I’m looking at you, Joe Perez). The evening ended in the Headlite Suite, with fun stories to share and winners claiming their bragging rights.

The second day included a Greeter Bag Party-creating the special bags with donated items from our generous vendor community for the CGA Strategic Conference Guests. The group met for another delicious dinner and fellowship that evening at LG’s steakhouse. The board meeting was the third day. Topics covered included upcoming networking events, update on finances, committee updates, and an exciting update from Carole Christianson, previewing the upcoming WAFC convention, to be held once again in San Antonio, Texas.

Wonderful event, and we thank our gracious hosts, Headlite Juan and Stephanie Trillas.

Although they officially became first year Hilites in 2020, we celebrated a second “first year” for the following Hilites:

-Monica Abarca -Anu Algin -Karl Konrad -Kristina McVay -Dan Sawchuk