Experience

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  Gwinnett County Public Schools

  • Snellville, Georgia

  • School Nutrition Worker

    • Mar 2012 - Nov 2013
    • Snellville, Georgia

    Assisted with preparation and distribution of meals in the school nutrition department at a local high school in Gwinnett County after completion of ONE program. Participated in NEAT program, helped with special events and helped conduct classroom presentations.

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  Artome

  • Alpharetta, Georgia

  • Frame Preparation Children's Art

    • Dec 2011 - Dec 2011
    • Alpharetta, Georgia

    Preparing frames used to showcase and promote children's artwork at their schools in professional, gallery style settings.

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  Mayfield Dairy Farms

  • Greater Atlanta Area

  • Key Account Manager, School Sales Account Representative

    • Apr 2008 - Mar 2011
    • Greater Atlanta Area

    Managed an extensive network of diverse food service contacts and contracted clients, including over 60 city, county, and private school nutrition directors in North Georgia. Coordinated efforts utilizing eight distribution points and two manufacturing plants. Developed relationships to ensure customer satisfaction through personal contact and prompt resolution of service and quality issues. Maintained new customer prospect lists, conducted cold calls, delivered and attended publicly read bids. Active in GSNA.Showed strong ability to work well within the management team, think strategically and exercise considerable initiative by creating never before seen communication spreadsheets. These spreadsheets relayed vital information to operations, production and distribution enabling critical decisions to be made in a timely manner. Established charts for bid awards, developed a master student attendance calendar, and put in a severe weather notification system to monitor school closures and delays in the Georgia service area.Instrumental in working with school nutrition directors and outside manufacturers by recommending the elimination of food colors in the product formulation of a new calcium-enriched juice. Created customized order forms for each school system which reduced order errors and accounting mistakes, ultimately saving thousands of dollars yearly in company expenses.Exhibited strong ability to work creatively building goals around company and industry objectives. Organized promotions in public and private schools and on college campuses to reinforce the "Refuel with Chocolate Milk" story. Supported the National Milk Pep "Pour One More" campaign encouraging serving hot chocolate milk at Georgia Aquarium and Gwinnett Georgia College. Brought the "Milk Rocks" campaign to middle schools in Cobb, Rockdale, and Madison Counties. Awarded a "Golden Cow" trophy by Scottie Mayfield for Awesome Tradeshow booth at GSNA tradeshow.

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  Atlanta Dairy, Flagship Dairy, Parmalat Dairy

  • Greater Atlanta Area

  • School Channel Manager, Coordinator, Account Rep

    • Dec 1994 - Apr 2008
    • Greater Atlanta Area

    As school channel manager built close relationships with 19 Georgia school nutrition directors and our management team, involving five branches and one manufacturing plant. Created the Katie the Cow school milk program involving Katie the costumed mascot, a 14 foot tall, blue-eyed cow, and a red pickup. Visited schools across Georgia promoting milk and being ready to learn. Brought National Milk Mustache Tour to Georgia schools. Active in GSNA. Event photos submitted to Milk Pep were featured in their sales materials and on banners at national conferences. Developed crisis management skills with school nutrition directors during transition of Atlanta Dairy to Mayfield in the aftermath of 2008 tornado by being pro-active, forthcoming, timely and factual.Exhibited strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to handle multiple priorities. Assisted with preparation of precise responses to rfp's, rfq's, government bids and contracts all with strict deadlines. Prepared relevant materials, shipped product samples, coordinated special events, set up tradeshows, and developed demo programs. Made travel arrangements. Assisted with collections. Cross-trained as customer service manager back-up, keying orders into Ross system to meet production and load out cutoffs.Showed initiative asking to design new product labels and cartons for all Atlanta Dairy and Farm Fresh products. Saved company thousands working with artists, making own sketches, and researching and submitting documentation to prove brand ownership. Involved all levels and departments asking for their input of the final designs.Worked in Parmalat's Gelaterias during 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Earned extra money doing demos, promotions, merchandising milk, and performing as Katie.Handled Circle K, Racetrac, and Publix accounts taking Circle K from full door milk sets to 8 foot dairy cases. Worked with their field merchandiser creating a shelf strip tagging system for new dairy cases.

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  Flav-O-Rich

  • Greater Atlanta Area

  • Account Manager

    • Mar 1991 - Dec 1994
    • Greater Atlanta Area

    Increased weekly gallon sales to Big Star by over 100 cases. Expanded dairy sets from 3 shelves to full doors in most Circle K stores. Created a Circle K Pre-Order Ice Cream Pilot Program that eliminated out of stocks and increased sales 15% in one district.Brought in Big Cow from Kentucky and did slide presentation for Circle K's coming out of bankruptcy party.Worked with new Publix account as set-up person for milk and ice cream as they opened their new stores.Participated in tradeshows, worked with sales contests, and created weekend promotion and demo programs for Flav-O-Rich and Nestle products.

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  Pet Dairy

  • Greater Atlanta Area

  • Sales Coordinator, Territory Manager, Merchandiser

    • Nov 1985 - Mar 1991
    • Greater Atlanta Area

    Started as Merchandiser for Big Star implementing pre-order drop program for private label and branded milk and ice cream and training dairy managers how to keep inventories and place orders.Won "Thrilla' in Vanilla" ice cream contest for reaching highest volume sales and most outstanding displays. Promoted to Territory Manager when Land-O-Sun purchased Atlanta Dairy, calling on Pet and Atlanta Dairy customers in a given area.Quickly promoted to Sales Coordinator working on special projects. These included streamlining over 300 price files into 60, helping with decisions on new logo, carton and label design for Atlanta Dairy products and vehicles, writing, editing, and presenting a DSD merchandising manual, and organizing events and promotions such as the building of a banana split for 5,000 zoo guests at Willy B's 30th birthday party.Performed as "Maggie Moo", a pink costumed cow from SUDIA, for school career day talks.Gained experience as a team leader coaching and training others when assigned to coordinate teams for the introduction of DuPont's pouch milk system through pilot programs in selected Georgia schools. We used hand-over-hand instruction, classroom presentations and school assemblies to educate the children about the programs and how to open the pouches.

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  GB Sawyer Food Brokers

  • Grocery Set Up Specialist, Retail Merchandiser

    • Feb 1982 - Nov 1985

    Promoted to Big Star Set Up Specialist from Merchandiser in less than a year, traveling state of Georgia. Created typewritten dry grocery and frozen set schematics featuring favorable principal product placement. Won monetary awards from Tropicana for outstanding juice displays and Ragu for expanded sauce departments.

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  Colonial Stores/Big Star Foods

  • Front End Manager, Cashier, Stock Clerk

    • Aug 1970 - Aug 1982

    Worked 12 years as a cashier, front end manager, and night stock clerk at locations in Doraville, Sandy Springs, Athens, and Ansley Mall while in school earning high school diploma and completing Bachelor of Science degree. Took orders by phone and carried groceries to the homes of elderly at Ansley Mall. Employee of the Month several times. Helped train new employees and helped train employees with conversion to 10 key NCR registers.