2017Issue2_Alabama_v6

6 / 36

CHAIRMAN' S MESSAGE
Do no t s q uand e r t i me
PETER GREGERSON, JR.
GREGERSON'S FOODS
AGA CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
This year has already been very busy for
both the Association and its members.
I am reminded of a quote from one of
our Founding Fathers, Mr. Benjamin
Franklin, “Do not squander time for that
is the stuff life is made of.” We have been
using our time wisely and staying very
busy so far this year.
In February I was proud to be
appointed to serve as the Alabama
Grocers Association grocery industry
representative on the Governor’s Grocery
Tax Task Force.
In the Governor’s inaugural address, he
mentioned his desire to remove the state’s
4% sales tax from grocery items. AGA
supports this endeavor assuming the
state follows the same items we currently
adhere to for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program.
This task force will review the potential
financial impacts to the state budgets
and other direct and indirect economic
impacts to the state’s economy and we will
then offer recommendations on how to
effectively repeal the sales tax on grocery.
Our findings and recommendations
will be due to the Governor and the
Legislature by June 1.
The Membership Committee has
been very busy. Mr. David Bullard,
Membership Chairman has done a great
job at motivating not only the committee,
but also his warehouse to recruit new
members for AGA.
From January to March 1 this year
we already have 14 new AGA member
companies. Be sure when you see a new
member company representative to make
them feel welcomed into AGA.
The Benefits, Services and Education
Committee have had their hands full as
well. This Committee led by Jay Mitchell
of Mitchell Grocery Corporation has
successfully administered the Scholarship
Program for 2017.
As I write this, the application process
has ended and all the information has
been transferred to Dr. Glenn Richey of
Auburn University for judging. We expect
by the end of the month to be ready to call
and verify employment for each potential
scholarship recipient.
AGA has also secured a new member
benefit, partnering with Federated
Insurance. Retailers should expect these
new members to visit you and talk about
how they can help your companies.
The Association Office has also gone
through some changes. We were excited
to welcome our newest administrative
assistant, Cheryl Lusk, she comes to us
after retiring from Regions Bank. Cheryl
is married to Keith Lusk, they have 2
children and 4 grandchildren.
We are happy to welcome her to the AGA
family and look forward to working
with her. As always, your President, Ellie
Taylor, continues to work tirelessly with
regulatory agencies, our members and
other elected officials to do positive work
on behalf of our members. This is no more
evident than in the Tasting Regulations
she has been diligently working on with
the Alabama ABC Board.
I am truly looking forward to our next big
event, the AGEF Golf Outing on April 6 at
Inverness Country Club in Birmingham.
The money from this tournament go to
fund scholarships for children in college
and provide educational seminars for our
members.
If you have not signed up, you need to
either call the AGA Event Coordinator,
Jessica Brown at the Association Office at
205-823-5498, visit the website at www.
or email her directly
at .
this year has already been very busy for both the
association and its members.
| ALABAMA GROCER 6