ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

American Transportation Research Institute, Arlington, Va.
Judy McReynolds, president and CEO of ArcBest Corp., was named chairman of the board, succeeding Steve Williams, who recently completed his term. McReynolds was first appointed to the board of directors in June 2010, and will now chair the board comprised of 15 trucking industry presidents and CEOs. 

National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), Harrisburg, Pa.
David Welch, director of business support for BI-LO Holdings, LLC, was elected chairman of the board. Welch has served on the board of directors as vice chairman-refrigerated and chairman-elect since 2008. Other officers sworn in are Scott Rouse, Tyson Foods, Inc., chairman-elect; Joy Sgro, Bozzuto’s, Inc., secretary; Ray Tarnowski, Philadelphia Warehouse & Cold Storage, treasurer; Dave Jones, Kellogg Co., vice chairman-frozen; and John Farmer, Global Dairy Products Group, vice chairman-refrigerated.

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Noel Hacegaba, who has been serving as the acting deputy executive director and COO since June 2013, was named managing director of commercial operations and chief commercial officer, responsible for all commercial matters and serving as the primary liaison to the port’s customers. The newly created Commercial Operations Bureau, now overseen by Hacegaba, includes the business development, security services and tenant services and operations divisions. Sean Gamette, who has been serving as acting assistant managing director of engineering and chief harbor engineer since July 2013, was made senior director of program delivery and chief harbor engineer, responsible for the Engineering Bureau, which includes the program management, construction management and project controls divisions. Roger Wu was promoted to the newly created position of assistant director of business development. And, Eamonn Killeen was appointed assistant director of real estate, succeeding Gail Wasil, who retired in August.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Springside Cheese Corp., Oconto Falls, Wis.
Owner Wayne Hintz transferred 80% ownership to his sons Keith Hintz and Nathan Hintz, each receiving 40% ownership stake. As a result, Keith became company president while Nathan became vice president, effective Sept. 1. Wayne retains 20% ownership stake and remains head cheesemaker. These ownership changes take place as the company hints at new product lines and other changes into 2015. 

Ready Pac Foods, Inc., Irwindale, Calif.
Phil Yamamoto was appointed vice president, procurement, responsible for establishing a consistent, dependable and cost-effective supply of materials and agricultural goods to ensure the most efficient delivery of high-quality products to the consumer. He will also assist in the assessment and rebuilding of the current supply chain footprint. Yamamoto comes to Ready Pac from Reiter Affiliated Cos., where he served as global director of supply chain management, responsible for overseeing a fast-paced, multi-national supply chain department for a large producer of fresh berries. He supervised sourcing, procurement, market analysis, national and international contracting and cost savings for three regions, 10 districts and over 40 production operations. Prior to Reiter, he developed his skills with 20-plus years of experience working in senior and executive management positions at Pitco Foods, Core-Mark International and Rocky Mountain Foods.

Maschhoff Family Foods, St. Louis, Mo.
Greg Billhartz added chief financial officer to his current title of executive vice president and general counsel. Prior to joining Maschhoff Family Foods in 2013, Billhartz served as corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary of Ralcorp Holdings Inc., overseeing its legal, compliance and human resources functions. During his time with Ralcorp, Bilhartz led several strategic transactions, including a number of domestic and international acquisitions. Prior to that, Billhartz served as assistant general counsel and assistant secretary for Arch Coal Inc.

FOODSERVICE:

Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., Atlanta
Melissa Strait was promoted to chief people officer, a newly created position, responsible for leading the strategy, development and execution of key organizational effectiveness and talent management programs across the company. Strait has been with Arby's since 1984, when she started as a team member working in an Arby's restaurant. In 1995, she became director of training, and then worked for both Arby's franchisees and eventually the franchisor. Strait was named vice president of training and development in 2000 before later becoming senior vice president of human resources and leadership development.

SUPPLIERS:

Spiroflow Systems, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
Mark Langenfeld joined the robotics automation team, responsible for sales management and business development of the company’s robotics automation division. Lagenfield maintains more than 25 years of expertise in business development, sales, applications engineering, machine design, project management and engineering along with managing his own robotic and machine vision company. He has completed more than 800 robotic and special machines installations in a variety of industries and boasts extensive experience with end-of-the-line automation, providing carton loading, case packing, bag palletizing and automatic guided vehicle systems. Meanwhile, David Moses joined as project design engineer, bringing with more than eight years of experience in a variety of mechanical engineering positions. Lastly, Christopher Sales was named project design engineer, bringing more than six years of industry related experience. Both Moses and Sales are responsible for designing custom powder handling solutions.

WeighPack Systems Inc., Las Vegas
Armin Syroos was appointed engineering manager. Syroos’ experience includes more than 15 years working for Krones and Sidel. He has also held several positions in both engineering and project management, eventually becoming the director of engineering and project management at Sidel.

Rovema North America, Norcross, Ga.
Food packaging equipment veteran John Panaseny was tapped as the company’s first chief executive officer, after parent company Rovema GmbH opened a 27,000-square-foot facility in Norcross that now serves as the North American headquarters. 

IN MEMORIUM: DARRELL VANDEHEY, RESER’S FINE FOODS

Darrell Vandehey, vice president of production for Reser's Fine Foods, Beaverton, Ore., passed away Oct. 16.

Vandehey was Reser’s longest term employee, having worked for Reser's for almost 62 years. As a child, Vandehey lived next door to Al Reser, former chairman of the board who passed away in 2010, went to college with Al and worked for Reser's in many positions. 

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore.