PMA Education Foundation announces Leadership Symposium young professionals’ scholarship recipient

January 07, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT:

Award goes to produce industry newcomer,

Duda Farm Fresh Foods’ Matthew Enny

Newark, Del. – Matthew Enny has been named the first-ever recipient of a Produce Marketing Association Education Foundation (PMAEF) young professionals’ scholarship to attend Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 2008 Leadership Symposium. The event will be held Wednesday-Friday, Jan. 16-18, 2008, at the Omni Dallas Park West in Dallas, Texas, USA. Enny is currently a category management analyst for Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc., based in Salinas, Calif.

This is the first year for this new PMAEF scholarship program, which will continue annually. The foundation’s intent is to sponsor a young industry professional’s attendance at PMA’s pre-eminent executive leadership training and networking event each year, to help train the industry leaders of tomorrow.

“It is vital to our industry’s future to train and inspire not only current leaders but also the future leaders who will join the executive ranks. The Leadership Symposium offers a perfect, intimate environment for that to take place,” said PMAEF Executive Director Cindy Seel.

The foundation also sponsors other programs to identify, encourage and train future produce industry leaders, including:

• the five-year-old Pack Family/PMA Career Pathways scholarship program, which helps agribusiness and food marketing college students learn more about the produce industry and network with industry leaders by attending one of the industry’s largest gatherings, PMA’s Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition;
• a new job bank, Produce Job Source, which provides a one-stop-shop for those seeking a career within the industry and acts as a resource for produce companies to attract, recruit and retain top talent;
• the Nucci Scholarship for Culinary Innovation, which gives student chefs from Johnson & Wales University and the Culinary Institute of America the unique opportunity to learn about produce from produce and foodservice professionals by attending PMA’s Foodservice Conference & Exposition.

Enny’s experience with PMAEF began as a Pack Family/PMA Career Pathways scholarship recipient in 2006, while he was a student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He shared his experiences as a scholarship recipient with general session attendees at the 2007 Fresh Summit last October. For more information about the Pack Family/PMA Career Pathways scholarship program, visit http://www.pmaef.com/students/packfamily.aspx.

The Leadership Symposium is presented by PMA, in partnership with Produce Business and Cornell University. It is PMA’s annual executive training and networking event, and is the association’s most highly-rated yearly event. This year’s symposium will feature some of the day’s leading business minds on the topics of innovation, creativity and honesty. For more information on the 2008 Leadership Symposium, visit www.pma.com/leadership.

About the Produce Marketing Association Education Foundation (PMAEF)

PMAEF was founded in 2006 by the Produce Marketing Association, the leading trade association for the produce industry. PMAEF is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to ensuring a quality workforce for the industry, and making a positive difference in the lives of current and future produce professionals by developing their potential for leadership, personal growth and career success.