Foodservice Distributors and Suppliers across North America gathered together to celebrate Golbon’s Annual Awards with a new and unique twist – virtually! The Golbon Special Events and Marketing Teams prepared a video presentation that not only captured the essence of these unique times, but also demonstrated Golbon’s ability to adapt, while staying the course of tradition.

“We are proud of the format and presentation that our team prepared, to announce and celebrate these important accomplishments of our Golbon Distributor and Supplier partners.” said Dave Myers, Golbon President.

The 2020 Golbon Award Winners are:

Golbon Distributor Awards

• Distributor of the Year – Atlas Wholesale Food Company, Detroit, MI
  • Atlas has been in business for over 100 years and has demonstrated continued growth and
    leadership within the Golbon program. This strong growth has been demonstrated in the
    utilization of IPAP, Golbon Logistics, Lumen Creative and Golbon Protein Advantage (GPA). Atlas
    has historically been recognized for numerous other Golbon Awards historically, including
    Golbon Distributor of the Year two previous times in 11 years. Congratulations to John and the
    entire Atlas team!
• New Distributor of the Year – Vern’s Food Service Distribution, Hermiston, OR
  • Founded in 1998, Vern’s has grown to become the area’s premier foodservice distributor
    servicing customers throughout Oregon as well as central and eastern Washington.
    Congratulations to Chris and the entire Vern’s team.
• Golden Carrot – Sunbeam Foods, Inc., Dallas, TX
  • The Golden Carrot Award dates back to the early 1980’s and is presented to the Golbon
    Distributor whose distinguished themselves by promoting and marketing both frozen and
    canned vegetables. Ernie Voigt, Golbon’s Chairman who passed away 5 years ago, started this
    wonderful tradition. Ernie is genuinely missed but we are excited to carry on the tradition and
    legacy that Ernie helped bring to Golbon. This year’s winner, Sunbeam Foods, has grown their
    frozen and canned vegetable purchases substantially in 2020. Sunbeam was established in
    1972, dedicated to serving the childcare industry, and has been a Golbon Member since 2001.
    Congratulations to Bonnie, Brian, and the entire Sunbeam Foods team!
• Golbon Protein Advantage (GPA) – Imler’s Poultry, Duncansville, PA
  • Imler’s took a year filled with disruption and truly thrived. This GPA Distributor of the Year
    increased both GPA cases and overall GPA tonnage. They have been a member since 2011 and
    were the 2019 Golbon Distributor of the Year. Year after year they have shown tremendous
    support for the GPA program. Thank you very much and Congratulations!
• IPAP – Imler’s Poultry, Duncansville, PA
  • The IPAP award goes to the Golbon member with the largest growth in pounds. This is also the
    first time awarding a Golbon member with multiple awards in one year. Congratulations to
    everyone at Imler’s Poultry. “It’s a testament to all the employees and team members, we
    wouldn’t have been able to be successful without everybody’s buy in. No matter what
    challenges came up, everybody continued to show up and be successful through these times.”
    said Bryan Imler, Director, Sales & Purchasing at Imler’s Poultry.
• Golbon Logistics – Get Fresh Produce, Chicago, IL
  • This award is determined based on multiple criteria including Logistics purchases and
    consideration of the scope of managed freight. They utilized FTL, LTL and consolidated truck
    loads. Congratulations to Sam Perry and the entire Get Fresh Produce team!
• Golbon Lumen Spark Award – Carolina Food Service, Loris, SC
  • This award goes to the Golbon Member that exemplifies excellence in marketing by utilizing the
    Lumen Creative team and their services. This year’s winner did just that by trusting Lumen
    through an entire company rebrand. This included a new company logo, new website, and
    multiple custom designed and installed truck wraps. Additionally, when COVID–19 hit, this
    member was quick to go direct to consumer by adding ecommerce functionality to their website
    and utilized social media to get the word out and connect with their community.
    Congratulations to Juan and the entire team!

Golbon Supplier Awards

• Supplier of the Year – J.R. Simplot Company, Boise, ID
  • Simplot has been a partner of Golbon for more than 40 years. They support the Golbon
    distributors in multiple ways as well as taking the time to foster direct relationships with our
    Golbon distributors. Congratulations to the entire team at Simplot!
• Frozen Fruit & Vegetables – J.R. Simplot Company, Boise, ID
• Non-Foods – R3, LLC, St. Louis, MO
  • R3 has been a Golbon partner for 19 years. During the last year they have stepped up and
    provided excellent service and assistance, including providing products and solutions related to
    COVID–19. R3 also supports Golbon through conferences and other program initiatives. Thank
    you and congratulations to R3!
• Dry Grocery – Conagra Foodservice, Chicago, IL
  • Conagra has been a Golbon supplier partner for more than 30 years. As Golbon has grown in
    membership, Conagra has continued to grow their product portfolio across all categories. They
    continually support the Golbon Conferences and other supplier initiatives, and they are always
    there to support our Golbon members. Congratulations to the Conagra team!
• Protein – Smithfield Culinary, Smithfield, VA
  • Smithfield services many Golbon members with exceptional customer service. They are always
    responsive and helpful for any inquiry on their extensive catalog. Thank you and
    congratulations to the entire Smithfield team!

Each of the above award winners were presented with a custom engraved crystal plaque that was sent prior to
the awards ceremony announcement. This allowed Golbon to capture the unboxing, reaction, and celebration
of the award winners and incorporate it into their custom produced video presentation. The awards
presentation was shared during the Golbon Fall Conference, held October 6–8, 2020.