OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A championship
atmosphere. A cheering crowd. Dreams of competing for the top
title. It's not a football game, it's the Best Bagger
Championship.
The nation's top grocery store baggers are heading to
Las Vegas Feb. 14 to compete in the 2011 National Grocers
Association (N.G.A.) Best Bagger Championship presented by ConAgra
Foods. The competition will be held at The Mirage as part of the
N.G.A.'s annual conference. The showdown begins at 3 p.m. PST.
The final competitors, who beat out hundreds of other baggers
from their respective states, will be rated on speed, bag-building
technique, weight distribution between bags, style, attitude and
appearance. A combination of jars, cans, boxes and loaves of bread
will pose the challenge for each contestant as he or she races
against the clock to bag the items the best way possible. After
positive feedback following last year's event, eco-friendly,
reusable bags will be used for the second year in a row.
For the second straight year, the involvement of ConAgra Foods
means a generous prize pool for the winners. The grand prize winner
will receive $10,000, the second
place contestant will earn $5,000 and
the third through fifth place winners will net $1,000 each.
"These competitors are hard-working, young professionals from
locally owned grocery stores in each state," said Doug Knudsen, president of Sales, ConAgra Foods.
"They are great examples of how many grocery stores are committed
to customer service and this competition is a fun way to recognize
and reward these baggers for their accomplishments."
Twenty-one states are sending their top performers to vie for
the title of the nation's best bagger. The 2011 N.G.A. Best Bagger
Championship presented by ConAgra Foods competitors are:
- Alabama: Thang Nguyen, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
- California: Cody Calhoun, Nugget Market, Inc.
- Georgia: Roland Mattox, Quality Foods of Commerce,
Inc.
- Indiana: Dave Smith, Martin's
Super Markets
- Iowa: Jeremy Mescher, Fareway Stores, Inc.
- Kentucky: Brice Harris, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. (Food
City)
- Massachusetts: Bryan Cramond, Stop and Shop
- Michigan: Mina Eskander, Martin's Super Markets
- Minnesota: Matt Medley, Lunds Food Holding, Inc.
- Missouri: Scott Hall, RPCS (Price Cutter)
- New Jersey: James Wilmott, Shop
Rite of Hunterdon County
- New York: Constance Gaines,
D'Agostino Supermarket
- Ohio: Tom Bergman, Dorothy Lane Market
- Pennsylvania: Kayla Wilson Giant
Food Stores, LLC
- Rhode Island: Bonny Pride Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc.
- Tennessee: Colby Morgan Kroger
- Utah: Andrew Hadlock, Macey's, Inc.
- Vermont: Krystal Smith, Hannaford Supermarket
- Virginia: Dylan Belcher, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. (Food
City)
- Washington: Jessica Lewis, Yoke's Fresh Market
- Wisconsin: Stephanie Teteak, Larry's Piggly Wiggly
N.G.A. is the national trade association representing the retail
and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the
food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately
owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of
formats. Most independent operators are serviced by wholesale
distributors, while others may be partially or fully
self-distributing. Some are publicly traded but with controlling
shares held by the family and others are employee owned.
Independents are the true "entrepreneurs" of the grocery industry
and dedicated to their customers, associates, and communities.
N.G.A. members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers
associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For
more information about N.G.A. and the independent sector of the
industry, see the N.G.A. website: www.NationalGrocers.org.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's leading food companies, with
brands in 97 percent of America's households. Consumers find
Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters,
Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's,
Marie Callender's,
Orville Redenbacher's,
PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many ConAgra
Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club
stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business
presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain
products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice
operators and commercial customers. For more information, please
visit the ConAgra Foods website at www.conagrafoods.com.
SOURCE ConAgra Foods, Inc.