Executive Director’s Message
HEADQUARTERS
Dear NYSNA Members, Welcome to 2021! I am sure we can all agree that we are just not going to talk about 2020 anymore, or think about, or even acknowledge that year ever happened. This year is going to be great and we have some exciting updates to share with you to kick off the new year. New Magazine First, let’s talk about the magazine! You may have noticed the name has changed and is no longer called FOCUS on School Nutrition – welcome to your first issue of FRESH BITES! Fresh Bites will be your quarterly, digital publication. Issues will be stored in the members’ section of the website. We asked our committees for input to name the new magazine and then we took the list of suggested names and YOU, the members, voted! Thank you for the amazing fresh new name of our magazine. Why are we no longer printing these issues? NYSNA had to make budget adjustments, along with all of you I am sure, and the cost to print the magazines was probably much more expensive than one might guess. But, this digital platform is very exciting and interactive. We think you will actually get much more from this technology and we look forward to bringing you plenty of fun and informative issues. New Board of Directors I want to welcome our new Board of Directors, led by president Sue Bell. You will get to learn a bit more about our new president in this issue and we will be using the new NYSNA News platform to help you get to know the rest of the board, and committees too! From the Show Floor Our most recent event, From the Show Floor, has been such a success and we thank all of you for participating. In the last issue we were excited to launch the event on November 2nd and I am excited to share some fun facts about the event since that time: Attendee Data: We did an analysis to compare the attendance of district directors at the past conferences (2015 to 2019) to the registered attendees (first month) of From the Show Floor and we have increased our district director attendance by 28% - that is AMAZING! Event will remain open until June, which means you can still sign up. Live keynote workshops were recorded and added into the event website so you may watch as many times as you like. “From the Show Floor is a valuable tool for all Directors in the Child Nutrition field. It gives you an opportunity to stay connected with our Industry partners, as well as staying up to date with what is trending in the K-12 market. FTSF is great to have on your phone or desktop as a quick reference of products, nutrition information and Industry contacts.” Here is what some of your fellow NYSNA members are saying about the event: “I think From the Show Floor is such a great value added to a traditional food show. I have learned so much from the videos that I have watched, and I can go back anytime I want and watch them again. I could never spend 15 minutes with each vendor at a food show, so this allows me to give each vendor the same amount of attention. Along with that, From the Show Floor was so affordable I signed up all my managers for it so they can watch and give their feedback on items they would like to try. I hope From the Show Floor will return in 2021.”
Spring Virtual Workshop
We know that things are still pretty hectic right now and it may not be possible to meet in person for a while. That being said, we will plan something for you this spring to replace the area workshops that are traditionally held in various areas of the state. We will provide education and some fun networking, virtually of course. Stay tuned for more! New Website By this time I am certain that everyone has visited the new website and we have received great feedback from many of you about the efficiency and useful features. Remember that this website houses all of our membership information, including NYSNA News video segments. Other information you may find within: Events/Registration Information (we no longer have paper registration and you are able to do everything online now) Awards & Scholarships
NYSNA Executive Director
JENNIFER MARTIN MBA, CAE
Professional Development Leadership Opportunities Calendar of events And more….
I hope everyone had nice holiday season and we thank each and every one of you for serving our kids every day. You are our Super Heroes and inspire us here at headquarters and….here is a flashback video from last year’s School Lunch Hero Day.
Thank you for all that you do! - Jennifer -
NYSNA School Lunch Hero Day
JENNIFER MARTIN, MBA, CAE NYSNA Executive Director Jennifer has been in associationmanagement since 2011 and the Executive Director of NYSNA since 2014. Prior to working for NYSNA she was the Executive Director of the New York State Builders Association Research & Education Foundation. She is an expert in the areas of administration, iced coffee, and Harry Potter. Her keys to success can be summarized by the following phrases: “Work smarter, not harder”; “Be intentional”; “your attitude determines your altitude”, and she prides herself on being an amazing talent scout!
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FreshBites
WINTER 2021
FreshBites
WINTER 2021
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