American Frozen Food Institute Elects New Board Leadership

The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) today announced the election of four officers and nine members to the AFFI Board of Directors.

The elections took place on Feb. 20 at the AFFI Annual Meeting in San Diego held in conjunction with the 2012 AFFI Frozen Food Convention.

The new AFFI officers are: George Smith of NORPAC Foods, Inc., as chairman;Jeff Varcoe of The Schwan Food Company as first vice chairman;Dave Yanda of Lakeside Foods, Inc., as second vice chairman;and Mark Dunn of the J.R. Simplot Company as immediate past chairman.

Smith is president and CEO of NORPAC Foods, a nationally-recognized farmer cooperative and processor headquartered in Stayton, Ore., that produces premium quality vegetable and fruit products.

Varcoe is vice president of food safety and quality for The Schwan Food Company, a privately-held company based in Marshall, Minn., that sells branded frozen food through home delivery, retail and foodservice channels throughout North America.

Yanda is president and CEO of Lakeside Foods, a privately-held international private label food processor headquartered in Manitowoc, Wis., with 15 plants and eight distribution centers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio.

Dunn is vice president of government affairs for the J.R. Simplot Company, a privately-held agribusiness headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with operations in 23 states and 18 countries. Dunn, who served as chairman of AFFI over the past year, passed the gavel to Smith.

The nine board members elected today are: Larry Cope of Clear Springs Foods;Andy Dahlen of General Mills, Inc.;Wesley Eubanks of The Pictsweet Company;Greg Evans of McCain Foods USA;Ed Flanagan of Jasper Wyman &Son, Inc.;Steve Lezman of Tropicana Products;Tom Madden of Rite Stuff Foods;Mike McEvoy of Sargento Foods, Inc.;and Joe Pacinelli of Better Baked Foods, Inc.