ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Atlanta
James Adams, president and CEO of Wenger Feeds, was elected chairman of the board of directors. Adams previously served as vice chairman, and has worked in a variety of roles in egg production, feed manufacturing, transportation, purchasing and sales and marketing.

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Washington, D.C.
President Richard Timmons announced plans to retire no later than Aug. 31. He has served in the post since Sept. 3, 2002. The association launched a presidential search committee headed by vice chairman Ed McKechnie to find Timmon's successor.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

California Dairies, Inc., Visalia, Calif.
Blake Anderson was nabbed to fill the newly created senior vice president of new business development position, effective Jan. 21. In this role, Anderson will be responsible for evaluating and developing new business opportunities that align with the company’s goal of increasing its global presence. Anderson has more than three decades of sales, marketing and business development experience working with leading food manufacturers managing multi-site domestic and international businesses.

Kraft Foods Group, Inc., Northfield, Ill.
Deanie Elsner was announced to the newly created role of chief marketing officer, responsible for building on the strength of Kraft's unrivaled brands through the development of world-class marketing and innovation that drives consumer engagement and contributes to the company's volume and revenue growth. Elsner most recently served as president of Kraft's beverages business, where she was responsible for the manufacturing, marketing and sales of Maxwell House coffee, Kool-Aid, Capri Sun, Country Time, Crystal Light, Gevalia and Tassimo. Under her leadership, the beverages business achieved one of the most successful new product introductions in Kraft's history with the launch of MiO, a liquid water enhancer on pace to exceed $200 million in revenues.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Central division president Robert Moeder announced his retirement. During his tenure at Kroger, Moeder oversaw a strategic restructuring of the division, including a significant number of new store openings, expansions, remodels and store closings, leading to almost $1 billion in store investments and nearly 2,000 new jobs. Under his leadership, Central Division acquired Scott's Food & Pharmacy and pursued a more than $105 million capital investment project across the Fort Wayne, Texas, region.

Mile Hi Specialty Foods and Mile Hi Bakery, Denver
Jeff Jeppesen was hired as vice president of sales and marketing, while Mike Blanton was promoted to vice president of Mile Hi Bakery and Cody Mullins to vice president of Mile Hi Specialty Foods. Meanwhile, Robert Mares Jr. was promoted to general manager of Mile Hi Specialty Foods’ Dallas, Texas, division.

Lakeside Foods, Manitowoc, Wis.
Joe Yanda was promoted to vice president of operations, responsible for all plant and corporate operations functions. Yanda joined Lakeside in 1999 as quality assurance technologist, and has since advanced in the company as sales representative, account executive, sales manager and vice president of processed food sales. Dave Allen was promoted to vice president of retail sales, responsible for all sales for canned and retail products to retail customers worldwide. Allen joined Lakeside in 2007 as director of frozen retail sales, and has since been director of marketing and vice president of frozen food sales. Bruce Jacobson was transferred to vice president of special projects, responsible for assisting the operations’ leadership transition. Jacobson joined Lakeside in 1988 as general manager of Plainview’s contract operations, and has also been general manager of Belgium department, director of Eastern operations and vice president of operations.

SUPPLIERS:

Dorner Mfg. Corp., Hartland, Wis.
Terry Schadeberg was named president and CEO, and Brian Baumgart was appointed chief financial officer. Both Schadeberg and Baumgart come to Dorner from Nord Gear Corp.

R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC, Nicholasville, Ky.
Craig King was appointed president, succeeding Tammie L. Taylor, who was named vice chair after being with the company for 28 years. King spent 35 years at CSX, responsible for both the engineering and transportation groups, until being named regional vice president of transportation-North in early 2010.

Akro-Mils, Akron, Ohio
Doug Trasatt was named director of sales and marketing, responsible for all sales, marketing and communications initiatives. Prior to joining Akro-Mils, Trasatt was sales and marketing manager for Katy Industries, Inc., where he was responsible for industrial and OEM channel sales and marketing in the United States and Canada.

QualiTech, Inc., Chaska, Minn.
Ron Heddleson was director of technical services research and development, responsible for planning and directing all aspects of the food division’s product development activities and managing the portfolio of new products development. Heddleson brings more than 15 years in project and team management experience.

Andersen Material Handling and ISD (Integrated Systems Design), Wixom, Mich.
Ed Romaine was named chief marketing officer and vice president of marketing, respectively, responsible for implementing a fully faceted marketing program. Romaine has three decades of experience working and marketing in the material handling industry, spending more than two years with Sapient Automation, 10 years with KardexRemstar and nine years with White Systems.

Cambridge Engineered Solutions, Cambridge, Md.
Agustin Loya was appointed international sales director, responsible for supporting the Latin and South American market to provide both superior customer support and solutions in manufacturing automation to that region. Loya brings to the position 27 years of experience in industrial sales and 20 years in international sales management.

Alabama Southern Railroad, division of Watco Railroad Cos., LLC, Pittsburg, Kan.
Anwar Aiken was named general manager, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations, meeting performance goals with optimum safety, economy, efficiency and effectiveness, along with overseeing customer relationships. He will also be responsible for establishing operating budgets and controlling expenses in all areas of the operation. This personnel move comes at the heels of Watco’s recent acquisition of Ann Arbor Railroad.

CSX Corp., Jacksonville, Fla.
Quintin Kendall was named vice president, state government and community affairs, succeeding Michael O’Malley, who was recently named head of the company’s purchasing and materials group. Currently, Kendall serves as regional vice president for state government affairs for the Mid-Atlantic region, generating substantial support for major infrastructure investment projects, including the National Gateway, a major public-private partnership creating a double-stack intermodal freight rail corridor linking Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwest distribution centers. Kendall also coordinated company-wide efforts to broaden recognition of the benefits of freight rail and led CSX efforts to support growth at the Port of Virginia.

Georgetown Rail Equipment Co., Georgetown, Texas
Gregory Bilhartz will serve in the newly-created position of director, business development, responsible for developing emerging domestic and foreign markets to promote technological solutions for the rail industry. Bilhartz has been involved in business development and strategic program management associated with the international defense industry for more than 15 years.