1

The A

ffil

iate

d Fa

mil

y N

ews

A Message From Our President - Randy Arceneaux

January 2013

Volume 4, Issue 4

Greetings to All and we wish blessings for the New Year from the Arceneaux family to yours.

Looking back on 2012, significant milestones and accomplishments were achieved by Affiliated Foods. These achievements obtained by the tremendous effort and ethics of Affiliated Foods’ staff and employees, contin-ued support, input and leadership of member-owners.

New programs launched in 2012, like the Super Buys, Extreme Coupons and other promotional programs, fueled the momentum leading to record sales of over $1.4 billion and total rebates to members at more than $55 million! This showed a growth of over 9% vs. 2011 numbers. The majority of that growth came from same-store purchases, a strong 7%!

Our focus now is 2013 and the many challenges that are faced by all in the competitive food arena. We will win and grow by the collective, personal Pursuit of Excellence in the everyday operation, procurement and leadership at your warehouse. Above all, our company is blessed by the grace of our Lord and God.

God bless you and your families.

Happy New year 2013

Randy A

2

In the News

Employee of the Month - January - Jose Mani - Rodriguez

Randy Arceneaux / President and CEO presents the “Employee of

the Month” award to Jose Mani-Rodriguez

Congratulations to “Mani”, Order Selec-tor Trainer in our Dry Grocery Shipping Department. Mani works under the direction of Enrique Barreras who can’t imagine the department without his Trainer. Enrique tells us that Mani is key in getting the new hires trained. Mani started as an Order Selector over 9 years ago and has a great under-standing of the warehouse and the pro-cesses needed to successfully pull, stack, and load orders.

“Comets PANSTARRS and ISON - 2013”

PLEASE SEE EMPLOYEE ON PAGE 6

Whether you are an avid astronomer, amateur or just enjoy gazing at the heavens on a clear night, 2013 maybe

just your ticket to a front row seat! Two Comets will potentially brighten up our sky.

March – Comet PANSTARRS discovered in June 2011 in Hawaii will be at its best visibility from March 10th

thru March 24th.

November / December - This major event has been dubbed as the “Comet of the Century” and is named

ISON. Discovered in September 2012 it has set the astronomical community abuzz in regards to its appear-

ance in later November 2013 thru December 2013. It has been reported that this comet will possibly be

brighter than our full moon.

Comets throughout history have been unreliable as far as their outcome, as they promise to be

bright and we can only guess to how long their tails will be, it is truly just a waiting game…

Let’s hope that the future will hold that spectacular sight we all hope to witness.

Reference: http://

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/2013-

stargazing-events-comets-eclipses-meteor-

showers_n_2387623.html, http://

www.sciencerecorder.com/news/massive-comet-will

-shine-brighter-than-the-moon-say-astronomers/,

http://o.canada.com/2012/09/25/will-we-have-a-

christmas-comet-in-2013/

Courtesy of Cathy Gallivan / AFINews

3

Affiliated Foods Partners with 1WorldSync

In the News

Data Synchronization

Everyone wants product infor-

mation they can trust. We all de-

pend on it. Vendors need it to get

the right information to consum-

ing public, logistics rely on it to

pack and ship properly, wholesal-

ers rely on it for optimization of

warehouse space and selection,

retailers require it to plan and sell,

and consumers demand it to in-

form their lives.

As a result of the need for more

accurate product information, Af-

filiated Foods, Inc. has decided to

partner with 1WorldSync which is

the industry leader in Global

Product Data Management and

Global Data Synchronization Net-

work™ (GDSN®). The GS1®

GDSN-certified data pool offers

powerful solutions for data syn-

chronization—which enables trad-

ing partners (Vendors, Wholesal-

ers, Retailers) to share standard

product and location information

The explosion of product data re-

quirements, extended global trad-

ing partner communities, and the

complexity of the product data

ecosystem can compromise the

accuracy and authenticity of prod-

uct data for the consumer.

Following the flow of product da-

ta from the manufacturer through

the supply chain to the consumer

reveals a complex system of pro-

cesses many of which can fail to

maintain the integrity and quality

of the data. Various parties within

each organization—each with

unique roles and needs—are in-

volved in appending, qualifying,

enhancing and transacting data

with others. Some sources of data

may be from external sources

such as brokers. The inherent risk

with the movement of information

through this system is disintegra-

tion of the product data, which

can misrepresent the product. By

the time product data reaches the

consumer, it may be inaccurate,

confusing and ultimately dilute

the value of the product or brand.

We at Affiliated Foods, Inc. are

always looking for ways we can

benefit our retailers and we feel

being part of the Data Synchroni-

zation network will help us meet

those needs. This process will

occur over the next few years with

more accurate product infor-

mation which ultimately lead to

efficiencies in your warehouse.

automatically and electronically—

so companies can get products on

the shelf faster, reduce logistics

costs, and enhance customer rela-

tionships.

1WorldSync is part of GS1®, the

standards organization that works

with industries and companies to

develop, adopt, and use global

standards for identifying, captur-

ing, and sharing information about

products, locations, and more.

Forty years ago, GS1® helped the

grocery industry develop the UPC

barcode. The UPC initiated

unique Global Trade Item Num-

bers (GTIN) for products and

made it possible to electronically

scan and capture the information

about that product at point of sale.

Created to speed grocery store

checkout and improve inventory

management, the UPC laid the

foundation for digital commerce.

The next major stage in the evolu-

tion took place almost fifteen

years ago, with global data syn-

chronization through data pools

and the GDSN. Accurate, stand-

ardized product information could

now automatically flow between

many trading partners, transform-

ing the interoperability of supply

chain systems. Courtesy of Dr. Michael Lindley /

Director of IT

4

In the News

USDA Eating Better on a Budget

Courtesy of Tana Bray / HR

Reference: http://

www.choosemyplate.gov

Check out: Daily Food Plans,

Super Tracker and more at this

site!

5

In the News Plains Dairy Announces Anniversary

Courtesy of Mary Reed / Plains Dairy

Spotlight on the Warehouse

Pictured above: (L) Dub Garlington, President (M) Warner Ray, Purchasing/

Maintenance Dept. (R)Colby Butcher, Chief Engineer.

Newcomer of the Month

Bryce McMahon,

Bryce, is one of the up and coming addi-

tions to the Perishable Receiving fork

crew. Bryce started the crew at the first

of October this year and quickly

achieved production standard. His su-

pervisor, Wade Philips attributes this to

Bryce’s dedication to job and family. He

is married and has 5 children, ranging

from 3 to 13 years old.

With his positive attitude and willingness

to help others Bryce would like to even-

tually make upward position moves with-

in the company increasing the overall

benefit to his family. Courtesy of Jason Lueb / Inventory Manager

6

EMPLOYEE: January Employee of the

STORY: cont. from

Page 2.

In the News

Courtesy of Rita Koontz / Human Resources

Mani is a single parent and has 3 children; Jen-nifer, age 12; Jonathan, age 9; and Joletta, age 7. In his spare time, Mani loves to play soccer. He plays both indoor and outdoor. His son, Jonathan, aka Torito, also plays soccer. When they have time, they like to visit Mani’s mom and go fishing on the Mississippi River. Mani enjoys Chinese food and his favorite movies are the Rocky movies starring Sylvester Stallone. The most influential people in Mani’s life have been his mom and his son. Mani says he can al-ways count on them and feels they help him make good choices. Mani plans to continue working for Affiliated as long as they will have him. He plans to keep doing a good job and hopes to keep learn-ing things about the company and moving up. Mani selected gift certificates from Jorge’s Mexican Grill and The Plaza and will receive an additional 250 safety bo-nus points. Congratulations, Mani! THANKS FOR A GREAT JOB!

Employee of the Month for January 2013

New Years Resolutions - Which one will you pick??

Pick only one...Statistics show picking several resolutions causes people to procrastinate, be easy on yourself, pick one and stick to it! God Luck!

Be more positive Travel more Volunteer Spend more time with family Improve work situation Self Improvement -

Continuing Education Lose weight Improve health Get fit Life change decision

7

Courtesy of Val Clawson / DeJarnett and Western Family

Polish Sausage Chili

From the Kitchen Counter

Countdown Super Bowl - Courtesy of Eric Pittman / IT

1. In heavy stock pot or Dutch oven coat pan with cooking spray. 2. Sauté polish sausage until browned. 3. Stir in the remaining ingredients. 4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat simmer. Heat thoroughly for about 5 to 10 minutes. 5. Serve with plenty of Shurfine Tortilla Chips….

1 12 oz pkg. 2 10 oz cans 1 11 oz can 1 24 oz can 1 2.25 oz can 1 can

Super Bowl XLVII - February 3, 2013

Shurfine Polish Sausage Skinless Shurfine Tomatoes Diced with Green Chilies...undrained Shurfine Corn Golden Whole Kernel Vacuum Pak, drained Shurfine Chili with Beans Shurfine Ripe Olives, drained Shurfine Cooking Spray

Results as of 1/11/13

“Kielbasa” is the Polish word for Sausage!

**Use some Shurfine Mild Cheddar, Cheddar –Jack or Mozzarella Shredded Cheese to garnish.

Mmmmmm!!!

8

1401 Farmers Avenue

Amarillo, TX 79118

806-372-3851

“THANK YOU” to all who have contributed to the success of the Newsletter”!

The Affiliated Family News

Cathy Gallivan/ afinews@afiama.com

If you have any thing to contribute please e-mail the “AFI Family News” @ www.afinews@afiama.com

In the News

A Note of Thanks!

Affiliated Foods “ Team 2013”

AFI Poll “A Christmas Story”

Reported 50/50 Comments:

I like this movie:):):)….Have TRIED to watch "a Christmas Story" 20 times…cannot "get into it"! Not my favorite at all!

Now we know!