NEWS

35th Annual Partnership Conference – Press Release

For Immediate Release

SEFA HOSTS 35th ANNUAL PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE

June 30, 2021

Schaumburg, IL—SEFA, LLC connected and collaborated with its industry-leading partners at their
Annual Partnership Conference, held June 6-10, 2021, at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort. By
providing a hybrid solution, that was both in-person and virtual, SEFA was able to bring together over
400 Dealers and Suppliers for group sessions and an award ceremony that commemorated 35 years of
partnership.

“SEFA’s rich history of Partnerships is key to our success and the secret ingredient in everything we do.
We continue to redefine who our partners are and how we work together as we accelerate launching our
strategic initiatives in the industry with our incredibly talented team members,” said Kelly Cain, CEO.
“From our very bright beginnings in 1986, we’ve grown and thrived in every way and have much to
celebrate, including having founders Tedde and Jim Reid here to mark the occasion.”

SEFA celebrated the individuals and organizations by honoring those who remained committed to
finding a way to grow in a year when growth was thought to be impossible.

SEFA’s Member of the Year, the highest honor given to a SEFA Dealer was Breckenridge Kitchen
Equipment & Design., Huron, OH. Breckenridge captured this highly-respected distinction for
outstanding growth, innovation, and market leadership. They consistently surge forward with significant
growth and a focus on building strong connections through partnerships and relationships. Accepting
the award were Dick Pohl and Mark Claus.

The highest distinction a Supplier can earn is Supplier of the Year and the honor went to Groen
Equipment—Unified Brands. They deepened their relationship with SEFA by expanding their portfolio of
brands and taking an innovative approach to enhancing their program to help our members be more
competitive. They achieved significant growth with forty percent of our membership. The award was
accepted by Tom Donovan, Beth Hammer, Mark Lang, and Cliff Waters.

SEFA’s hotly contested Trainer of the Year was selected by SEFAPros, the field of candidates for this
honor included more than 35 trainers. We were excited to present this year’s Trainer of the Year award
to Rose Cowell, Carter-Hoffmann/Doyon/ Nu-Vu, for her excellence in training.

 

SEFA established the Dream Team Award to honor strong partnerships. This year, SEFA identified three
partners unrelated to one another but all committed to driving business growth within the SEFA Group.
Congratulations to our Dream Team Award winners Jason Wange, Foodservice Powerplant Network.
Jason is naturally talented at creating community, celebrating people, and sharing stories. In the last
year, he established a community of 1500 industry professionals from foodservice industry segments.
Through this community, he’s inspired his following by highlighting success stories through a weekly
interview series.

Our second Dream Team Award went to Zink Foodservice. Zink has been creative in identifying
opportunities for our Members to expand their product offering and gain market share. Accepting the
honor were Jim Zink, Kevin Jennings, John Manson, and Dan DeNoble.

Our third Dream Team Award winner was Admiral Craft, a company that goes above and beyond in
partnering with SEFA and its Members to win. Jeff Taylor accepted the award.

Additional Dealers and Supplier Award Winners recognized for their growth and market leadership
included:

More Dealer Winners
• Commitment to Community: Great Lakes Hotel Supply Co.
• Innovator: Supreme Hotel & Restaurant Supply Co.
• Circle of Excellence: Lafayette Restaurant Supply
• Pacecetter: B & G Restaurant Supply
• In Sync with Excellence: Grady's Foodservice Equipment & Supply

More Supplier Winners
• Outstanding Supplier—Storage & Transport: Lakeside
• Outstanding Supplier—Equipment: Stoelting
• Outstanding Supplier—Specialty Equipment: InSinkErator
• Outstanding Supplier—Dealer Support: Channel Manufacturing.

A video replay of the event and photos are available upon request.


About SEFA
SEFA, LLC is a nationwide network of leading supply and equipment dealers and vendor partners.
Founded in 1986, SEFA has grown to be the industry’s leading foodservice buying, marketing, and
training group. SEFA strengthens its partners through the delivery and development of professional
business services.