Topco Associates Honored with Industry Awards

A trio of Topco associates were recently presented with industry awards, received for the exemplary work within their respective fields. Today, Topco would like to congratulate Christine Heffernan, Joanne Leonardi and Anitra Farmer on their notable honors.

In August, Christine Heffernan, Senior Vice President of Center Store, was named Affiliated Foods Inc.’s (AFI) Corporate Management Team Leader of the Year. Now in its second year, the award is handed out to a senior corporate executive that has helped support their affiliates and members. It’s the highest tribute given to a vendor partner of the Amarillo, Texas-based organization.

The Corporate Management Team Leader of the Year is given to the person who has gone above and beyond for Affiliated Foods. According to AFI, Christine has proven herself on many occasions and demonstrated that her customers are top priority. She was integral in the transition of Western Family Foods to Topco, and provided leadership while capturing the trust of their organization. On August 21, Christine was honored at an AFI banquet.

In the September issue of Winsight Grocery Business, Joanne Leonardi was among the recipients named to the outlet’s charter class of Champions of Change.

The publication partnered with Global Market Development Center to recognize team-oriented professionals who have greatly contributed to advancing their company while fostering career paths and growth avenues for the next generation of leaders. In the piece, Joanne, Senior Director of Member Development, believes the inspiration to her leadership approach comes from believing that great things will happen when everyone works towards a single common goal. She practices putting herself in others’ shoes to try to get their understanding, which can be motivating to whomever she’s working alongside. Additionally, what she enjoys most about the industry are the people she interacts with and the relationships she’s built.

Finally, Anitra Farmer was recently named the Store Brands Magazine’s Top Woman in Store Brands, Functional Expertise: Corporate Services Award winner. Established by Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE), the award acknowledges contributions made by women from all areas of the North American store brands industry (click here for the official announcement).

Anitra, Director of Human Resources, was nominated by Topco’s Senior Staff who called her a strategic, innovative and collaborative business partner, changing the perspective of Human Resources across the organization. From her work on succession planning, critical role identification, career development mapping, talent management and organizational design, Anitra has brought a strategic lens to the business while continuing to advance Topco’s Associate Value Proposition.

She will be honored during the WISE Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s Private Label Trade Show on November 17.