From The President
Alyssia Wright
Greetings Family!
As we reflect on 2022-2023, we can all feel pride about our accomplishments in the past year. From the relaunch of Georgia Gems to the increase in membership, industry included, it has been a momentous year.
First and foremost, I would like to note that our success would not have been possible without the dedication of our committee members, industry advisory board, as well as strong leadership and hard work of our small, but mighty GSNA central office staff. I would like to shoutout Past-President and my Advisor, Vanessa Hayes for supporting me and being constantly available, morning, noon and night with a listening ear and well thought out responses. You get me, understand me, and have been there for me. I will forever cherish our friendship.
An illustration of this past year successes was truly reflected in our Family Reunion, Annual Conference where over 700 members and over 400 industry partners displayed true allegiance to our association. Special THANK YOU and Shout Out to Shelley Daniel, Conference Steering Chair, words cannot express our path towards conference, so all I can say is WE DID IT! Our journey through this year focused on 4 pillars to fulfill our mission as we marched in unison to the sound of our heartbeat:
Growth in Membership
2 successful Fall Membership Drives: Heartbeats on a Mission Membership Drive and Adopt-AHeartbeat resulted in Georgia winning the SNA Fall Membership award.
As of month ending March 2023, SNA’s membership report shows Georgia has a total of 3,752. We not only met but exceeded our 2022-2023 2% Membership goal number which was 3,375 members. We increased membership by over 375+ members over the prior year.
Georgia has the highest number of school district owned memberships in the country with 3,300 members currently.
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Development of Future Leaders
Launched SNAs LEAD series with 3 professional development-leadership presentations:
o Virtual Session 1 – Your Conflict Style Inventory – 235 Registered
o Virtual Session 2 – How are your Listening Habits – 137 Registered
o Session 3 at Industry Seminar –You and Your Network – 150 Attendees
Leadership Academy – 27 Graduates ready to Grow and Go further in their professional careers. Thank you, Dr. Debra Morris and Lea Ann Riley, Leadership Academy Chairs.
Financial Independence: Planning for Retirement Virtual Webinar – 164 Registered. Thank you, David Harris, Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Legislative Advocacy Conference –The Pulse of GSNA – members and 1st timers received in depth, behind the scenes knowledge on how to effectively advocate on our behalf.
Manager’s Retreat welcomed a record 99 attendees with 85% first timers all left ready to achieve and execute on the wealth of information they received.
Founded “Ready To Learn”– GSNAs Webinar Platform geared towards creating a resource house of professional development trainings and webinars for members.
Refreshed GSNA Website –Introduced District of the Month, interactive Georgia Gems Magazine, added member resources, and features a new sleek & modern look.
“Cooking with HEART!” – Debuted at Annual Conference as GSNAs 1st Culinary Demonstration hosted by Vanessa Hayes, featuring Chef James Jabbar, Chef William “Reggie that rhymes with Veggie” Sloan, and Chef Rachel Petraglia. This event would not have been possible without our Sponsor PACE Reps…Thank you!
Core Value of Industry Partners Industry professionals have been present from the onset, but this year the goal was to share with members the many talents of this awesome group of leaders:
Leadership Training – Keynote – Jose Herreria, Wild Mike’s (Pilgrims)
Manager’s Retreat – Presenters –David Pearson & Tina Palumbo, PACE Reps, Angie Ferguson, Chef Michael Terry, Land O’ Lakes, Scott McMichael, AMS Waypoint, Jose Herreria, Wild Mike’s (Pilgrims)
Industry Seminar – Thank you to all who purchased booths and hosted Innovation Stations, Chair of Industry Seminar – Claudia Harry, The Hansen Group, Speakers – Diego Rondon & Rente Durham, Dyma Brands, Moderator – Jose Herreria, Wild Mike’s (Pilgrims)
Legislative Advocacy Conference –Speaker – Claudia Harry, The Hansen Group
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SNAP Training – Speaker – Janet Mitchell, Premier Food Service Group
GSN Foundation Golf Tournament – Steve Shockley, ProView
Annual Conference – Presenters – David Pearson, PACE Reps, Matt Rigdon, The Hansen Group
Georgia Gems Co-Authors – Claudia Harry, The Hansen Group, Mark McGrath, PMR, Tina Palumbo, PACE Reps, and Kristen Dukes, Tasty Brands
Introduced Industry Insight – Georgia Gems featured Industry Partners and their actions around Georgia.
Restoration of Association Finances
The focus was to move toward restoring our association finances and thanks to increased member participation and increased sponsorships, the GSNA fund balance is on target to meet financial stability.
So, as I pass the torch to our next president, Cathy Johnson, let me say Thank You, again! A huge thank you to my Fulton County team! Thank you for standing up with me, grabbing additional tasks to make this year a success and for showing up for me always!! I HAVE THE BEST TEAM, Y’ALL! I would especially like to thank all my colleagues, every food service worker, every manager, every supervisor and coordinator, every chef, the GaDOE team, and the entire industry group for the confidence and trust that you placed in me to serve as your President. It has been my privilege and honor to have worked closely with all of you throughout the year. My door is eternally open. I’m super excited for what the future of our association holds. And remember, when you attend national conference or are on a Zoom call with members from around the country and they ask you where you are from, a smile will grace your lips, you will sit taller in your chair, or you will plant your feet firmly and say PROUDLY, “I’m from GEORGIA!
Thank you all for your continued dedication and loyalty to our association, Love You All!
Heartfully Yours,
Alyssia Wright
GSNA President, 2022-2023
WrightAL@fultonschools.org
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From The President-Elect
Cathy Johnson
Hello GSNA Family!
What an amazing year it has been serving as President Elect for GSNA! The opportunity to serve under Alyssia Wright has provided me with the insight and knowledge needed to take on my new role as 2023-2024 GSNA President. In Alyssia’s welcome letter last summer, she talked about the resiliency of school nutrition professionals and how we are still marching forward after what can only be called incredible circumstances. This past year has been a true testament of those words. Our association and its members were ready to get back to what we do best, serving children healthy meals and growing our association!
As we head into the next chapter, let’s keep the momentum going. I want to continue building on that strong foundation we have with our industry partners, seek opportunities for engagement with our members, and see new leaders step forward and lead us into our future. Our mission guides us, to advance the availability, quality, and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part of education, and we do this through our association’s code of guiding our personal conduct by the Golden Rule, upholding ethical standards by which our profession is judged, placing the service of others above personal gain,
seeking newer knowledge in our professional work, serving our community, cooperating with other groups with which we have common goals, and promoting advocacy to increase public support of our food service personnel.
I’m looking forward to so many exciting events this next year including the return of our Annual Kickoff Luncheon in September and another great Equipment Academy in January! These are just two more wonderful opportunities to engage and grow along with our GSNA Fall Expo, Manager’s Retreat, SNAP training, Georgia Legislative Advocacy Conference, and our annual GSNA Conference.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President this upcoming year!
MISSON Minded, VISION Focused.
Cathy Johnson GSNA President-Elect, 2023-2024
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Johnsca@boe.richmond.k12.ga.us
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Industry Advisory Board Co-Chair
Tina Palumbo
Welcome to the end of school year 2022 2023! The last time I wrote to you, we were just before Thanksgiving … and here we are at the end of the school year! Where does time go? I was in a school just recently and saw a sign on the wall: “17 more days.” I stopped to think, what about 17 days? And it hit me – there were only 17 more days of school for the current school year! I know many of you are eager to see summer arrive with a possible vacation around the corner or maybe just the fact that you might get to sleep in past 5:00 am. Whatever the reason, we are thankful and blessed to have been given another school year where we have been able to touch so many lives. Let’s be honest – aren’t you going to miss those hugs from the students? Or maybe the daily high five from that special little one? Or maybe you are going to work summer feeding? In any case, if we stop to reflect, time has passed by so quickly. It seems every year goes by faster and faster.
Hello, my name in Tina Palumbo, of Pace Reps, and I will be serving as chair for your next GSNA Industry Advisory Board. I tried to say hello to all of you at conference in Jekyll. I’m sorry if I missed you. The turn-out was incredible and trying to see everyone was certainly a challenge. You might have seen me – I was the one wearing the green t-shirt on Friday! Wasn’t it amazing walking through the convention center and seeing all the families represented in their appropriate colored t-shirts. This family reunion will not be forgotten!
I look forward to serving with you and our President, Cathy Johnson this next year as Chair of the Industry Advisory Board. Our goal is to bring new ideas, support, talents, and the many other things we could add to the list. Your board will serve you in any capacity that we can. We look forward to joining you at your local district meetings, in-service trainings, workshops, conference or wherever you may be during the year. We want to hear from you! What do you need to make your jobs easier? What trainings might help you accomplish that? Our board is eager to collaborate with each of you to help GSNA’s mission to advance the availability, quality, and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part of education.
Georgia’s School Nutrition ROCKS!
Keep up the awesome work – you are appreciated! Serving you,
Tina Palumbo
Pace Reps – IAB Co-Chair
tina@pacereps.com
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GSNA Executive Director
Laura Lynn
A dream comes true! Being your new Executive Director is something I had hoped for but I was never really sure if my dream would come to real life! So here I am sitting in Tucker, alongside to amazing women, Patrice Cayce and Daphne Webb, preparing plans for the upcoming year for GSNA. I am the oldest of four girls, whom I love dearly. My father is still alive and married to Ruth. Our mother, Sarah, passed away 2 years ago. I miss her every day. My own family consist of my very supportive husband, Charles, who is truly my best friend. I also have four beautiful children with four great spouses and seven amazing grandchildren. They are the apple of my eye!
Some of you may wonder who I am and how did I get to today. My story always starts when I was in the 5th grade. As an avid 4-Her, I participated in everything from Poultry Judging to speaking about the properties of cotton! In high school, I was active in FHA/HERO, which is now called FCCLA. When those four years were over, I attended Georgia College in Milledgeville and got my teaching degree in Home Economics. From 1986 – 2012 I taught high school Home Ec in Bacon County and then Brantley County, which was home for me. My students and I were recognized many times for our USDA Best Practice projects, both in Georgia and the Southeast. I became a member in 2001 and my students were recognized both on the state and national level for receiving the Nutrition Advisory Council of the Year. In July 2012, I began my second career as the School Nutrition Director for Brantley Co. Schools. Here I was afforded many opportunities to grow within the organization, through speaking at national events, participating on a national committee and being your State President. All I have to say is “food trucks” and it brings smiles to everyone who was at my conference. I will say that the hardest and the most fun job was being the Volunteer Chair for ANC Atlanta! Do you remember those bright gold shirts?
I look forward to raising the bar in each of our events as well as find ways to meet the needs of our members. We are the very best organization in the nation and I am excited to see where our next chapter takes us! My mantra I guess you could say is “Is it good for the members? Then its good for GSNA”! Without our great members, we would not be the amazing organization that we are!
As I reflect on my life, everything I have every been afforded, has made this dream come true. Being your director is a reward from God! He put me here to serve you, and that is what I intend to do! Much love,
Laura Lynn
GSNA Executive Director laura@georgiaschoolnutrition.com
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Claudia Harry
