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National Ice Cream Retailers Association NOVEMBER 2006 - $20.00 DICK WARREN NAMED NEICRA PERSON OF THE YEAR Dick Warren was named the New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association’s 2006 Person of the Year at the Association’s Annual Meeting held in October in Hyannis, Mass. The award is sponsored by The National Dipper Magazine. In presenting the award, Lynda Utterback, publisher of the magazine had this to say: I first met Dick Warren in 1989. I went to his store and interviewed him for an article in The National Dipper. As I thought about him, a list of his titles began to form in my mind. And I want to share that list with you. First and foremost he is passionate about ice cream and the ice cream industry. He was a football player in high school, college graduate and he holds a Masters Degree. Wrestler, husband, father, teacher, guidance counselor, football coach, speech coach, collector of ice cream & fountain artifacts and memorabilia. OOOPs, ex-husband. Oh, it’s OK, husband again. Skier, avid golfer, playing a total of 400 golf courses in 47 of the 50 states. Grandfather, biker, roller blader, swimmer, author and his most impor- tant title is Chief. He was born in Saugus, Mass. in 1935. He graduated from Saugus High School in 1953 and received a Bachelor Degree in Education from Boston University. He graduated from Bridgewater State College with a Masters in Administration and Guidance. He was introduced to making ice cream on his grandfa- ther’s farm in central Maine at the age of three or four and at home by his mother who had an old White Mountain crank freezer. When he was 16, he worked at a girl’s camp where the chef had him cranking out new ice cream flavors each Sunday to feed 225 young lady campers, a job he truly enjoyed. In 1956, while working on his teaching degree at Boston University the original owner of his shop hired him to make ice cream and manage the store for the summer. He moved into an apartment above the ice cream store. In two years he was a partner and in four years he was the owner of Four Seas in Centerville, Mass. The year was 1960. During the summer he worked in the ice cream store and he got a teaching job at the Barnstable High School during the school year where he taught for 30 years, retiring in 1988. He called his employees his kids, they are like family to him. He still travels all over the United States to visit many of them. And he held a reunion for all the employees that had worked at the store during the last 30 years. All but four employees were able to attend the reunion. They affectionately refer to him as Chief. In the last few years, he has spent less time running the business since his son Doug and his wife Peggy are now running the show. He still makes ice cream when needed. These days he spends his time consulting and teaching seminars. He has been teaching the Successful Ice Cream Retailing course which teaches people the business of ice cream since 1988. Along the way he was a member of the Board of Directors and president of NEICRA and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association. He is a past president of the Centerville Board of Trade; past chairman of Massachusetts Junior Miss Pageant. He was honored in 2001 as Centerville’s Man of the Year. In 1975 he was selected by the Massachusetts Jaycees as one of four outstanding young men in Massachusetts. He is a Master Mason and was a DAD advisor to both the Demoly boys and the Rainbow girls. He also directed plays at Barnstable High School and for the Rainbow Girls. He has been married to his wife Linda since 1984 and has four children and seven grandchildren with another one on the way. Another son Randy was killed in a tragic accident and every year he holds a fund raising event for the benefit of a scholarship in Randy’s name.

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Page 1: National Ice Cream Retailers Association · PDF fileNational Ice Cream Retailers Association NOVEMBER 2006 ... while working on his teaching degree at Boston ... On a lighter note,

National Ice Cream Retailers Association

NOVEMBER 2006 - $20.00

DICK WARREN NAMEDNEICRA PERSON OFTHE YEAR

Dick Warren was named the NewEngland Ice Cream RestaurantAssociation’s 2006 Person of the Yearat the Association’s Annual Meetingheld in October in Hyannis, Mass. Theaward is sponsored by The NationalDipper Magazine. In presenting the award, LyndaUtterback, publisher of the magazine had this to say:

I first met Dick Warren in 1989. I went to his store andinterviewed him for an article in The National Dipper. As Ithought about him, a list of his titles began to form in mymind. And I want to share that list with you.

First and foremost he is passionate about ice cream and theice cream industry. He was a football player in high school,college graduate and he holds a Masters Degree.Wrestler, husband, father, teacher, guidance counselor,football coach, speech coach, collector of ice cream &fountain artifacts and memorabilia. OOOPs, ex-husband.Oh, it’s OK, husband again. Skier, avid golfer, playing atotal of 400 golf courses in 47 of the 50 states. Grandfather,biker, roller blader, swimmer, author and his most impor-tant title is Chief.

He was born in Saugus, Mass. in 1935. He graduated fromSaugus High School in 1953 and received a BachelorDegree in Education from Boston University. He graduatedfrom Bridgewater State College with a Masters in Administration and Guidance.

He was introduced to making ice cream on his grandfa-ther’s farm in central Maine at the age of three or four andat home by his mother who had an old White Mountaincrank freezer. When he was 16, he worked at a girl’s campwhere the chef had him cranking out new ice cream flavorseach Sunday to feed 225 young lady campers, a job hetruly enjoyed.

In 1956, while working on his teaching degree at BostonUniversity the original owner of his shop hired him tomake ice cream and manage the store for the summer. Hemoved into an apartment above the ice cream store. In twoyears he was a partner and in four years he was the ownerof Four Seas in Centerville, Mass. The year was 1960.During the summer he worked in the ice cream store andhe got a teaching job at the Barnstable High School duringthe school year where he taught for 30 years, retiring in1988.

He called his employees his kids, they are like family tohim. He still travels all over the United States to visit manyof them. And he held a reunion for all the employees thathad worked at the store during the last 30 years. All butfour employees were able to attend the reunion. Theyaffectionately refer to him as Chief.

In the last few years, he has spent less time running thebusiness since his son Doug and his wife Peggy are nowrunning the show. He still makes ice cream when needed.These days he spends his time consulting and teachingseminars. He has been teaching the Successful Ice CreamRetailing course which teaches people the business of icecream since 1988.

Along the way he was a member of the Board of Directorsand president of NEICRA and a member of the Board ofDirectors of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association.He is a past president of the Centerville Board of Trade;past chairman of Massachusetts Junior Miss Pageant. Hewas honored in 2001 as Centerville’s Man of the Year.

In 1975 he was selected by the Massachusetts Jaycees asone of four outstanding young men in Massachusetts. He isa Master Mason and was a DAD advisor to both theDemoly boys and the Rainbow girls. He also directed playsat Barnstable High School and for the Rainbow Girls.

He has been married to his wife Linda since 1984 and hasfour children and seven grandchildren with another one onthe way. Another son Randy was killed in a tragic accidentand every year he holds a fund raising event for the benefitof a scholarship in Randy’s name.

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CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

2 NICRA November 2006

On a lighter note, I remember being at a meeting in Floridawith Dick. Several of us were having an “adult beverage”in the bar of the hotel where the meeting was held. Theentertainment in the bar was Karaoke. We noticed thatDick had a head start on the adult beverages so we put hisname in to sing Help Me Rhonda.

Well, the MC called his name and we told him that he wona prize and he should go up and get it. When he got to thestage, the MC gave him the microphone and told him tolook at the teleprompter and start singing. With the mic inone hand and a bottle of beer in the other he started bob-bing up and down and said, Help me Rhonda, Help meRhonda, help me, help me, help me!

Bob Bryson, Executive Director of NEICRA says Dick’sname is synonymous with ice cream and his reputation as aleader to our industry goes far beyond the New Englandarea. His love affair for ice cream started over 50 years agowith his beloved Four Seas in Centerville, right here onCape Cod.

When he is not churning up great flavors of ice cream, youwill find him at the local golf course trying to break 80,roller blading to the local beaches, skiing the slopes ofNew Hampshire and his tennis serve has been clocked at90 m.p.h. He also finds time to play an important roll inboth the National and New England Ice Cream

Associations, the Ice Screamers and his consulting busi-ness.

Many of you have suggested that an ice cream museum,looking back on the rich heritage of America’s favoritetreat, would be a great idea. Just a short distance from thishotel is his home where you can find ice cream memorabil-ia in every room in the house. He is a man on a missionand we have all benefited from his passion for ice creamand are delighted to call him our friend.

Congratulations Dick Warren, the NEICRA 2006 Person ofthe Year.

MAGGIEMOO’S INTERNATIONALDONATES ICE CREAM TO GILLIAMFAMILY

MaggieMoo’s International joined with the ABC-TV pro-gram Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, donating free icecream for a year to a family in Armada Township, Mich.,as well as providing ice cream on location for the buildersand other volunteers.

David Gilliam, a firefighter and emergency medical techni-cian, passed away unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 2005,leaving his wife Maryann, 32, with six children (currentlyages eight months to 12 years) and a tiny two-bedroom120-year old house that David was in the process of reno-vating.

It was soon revealed that the basement was contaminatedwith dangerous levels of toxic spores, possibly contributingto David’s death, money was tight, so the family continuedliving in the 900 sq. ft. farmhouse until doctors recom-mended they move out and into Maryann’s sister’s home.

“We’re very excited for the opportunity to provide theGilliams with free ice cream for a year,” said Jon Jameson,CEO of MaggieMoo’s. “After all they’ve been through,they truly deserve such a treat. We have no doubt our superpremium ice cream (and assortment of mix-ins) will delightthe entire family all year long.”

Proving almost as popular as some of the show’s cast mem-bers, MaggieMoo’s spokescow Maggie, a seven-foot tallcow with long, curly eyelashes, pearls and a bright pinkdress, spent most of the day posing for photos and makingnew friends.

The MaggieMoo’s franchise in Rochester Hills providedmore than 300 scoops of ice cream. A sundae bar stockedwith an assortment of fresh mix-ins and toppings allowedon-site workers and guests to create one-of-a-kind icecream desserts.

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4 NICRA November 2006

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

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BUTTER PRICES

September 29 2006 - Grade AA Buttersaw no change and finished at$1.3050. The weekly average was$1.3060. (2005 price was $1.6625.)

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6 NICRA November 2006

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

ing ice cream and making different ice cream treats couldbe. My upper body strength must have doubled since Istarted scooping ice cream. Then, on top of all of that, youneed to memorize where all the 58 flavors of ice cream are.In the beginning it took me a while to catch on, but onceyou get the hang of things then taking orders and scoopingice cream becomes easy.

I also learned how to not be so afraid of what people aregoing to think about you. I am sure all of the veteran girlsat Buttonwood had their own opinions about me, but I hadto learn just how to be myself and go with the flow.

Whatever had happened before in my life, I could startfresh here and be any body I wanted to be. People areeither going to love you or hate you and it’s their decisionwhether or not they want to let you into their lives.Buttonwood has such a great atmosphere that allows you togrow as a person and to learn from our mistakes. I think itwas a great first job for me to choose. I have learned a tonand I have made some really good friends, which makesworking much more enjoyable.

Now, I am a couple of months into my second season ofworking at Buttonwood. I completely enjoy every minuteof it. Going to work is never a bad thing, I almost want towork whenever I can. I like it so much because it is veryfamily oriented and Buttonwood does not try to be any-thing that they’re not. When people come to get ice creamthey know exactly what they are going to get, which isgreat ice cream, great atmosphere and great service.

It has become like my second home. Our boss, Mrs. KimButton treats us as if we were her own family. Everyonewho works there can sit down and tell her about their dayor ask her for advice. She takes care of us and makes usfeel comfortable. At the same time though, she can give ustough love and she can be a good boss when givinginstructions or correcting our mistakes. Buttonwood FarmIce Cream has shown me a lot and now as I get older I willbe able to adjust to different situations that come my way.

ASHBY’S STERLING WINS FIRSTPLACE AT WORLD DAIRY EXPO

Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream won a first place ribbon for itspremium chocolate ice cream at the World Dairy Expo heldOctober 3, 2006 in Madison, Wisc. The contest is the onlyall dairy judging contest of its kind in the United States.Winners are among the “best of the best” in the country, asmore than 600 companies participate in the World DairyExpo. Ice cream samples were judged by awarding pointsfor flavor, body, texture, color and appearance, meltingquality and bacteria. Ashby’s Sterling chocolate ice creamreceived a 99 score out of 100 possible points.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

by Daniell WoodmanseePreston, ConnecticutEmployee at Buttonwood Farm Ice CreamGriswold, Connecticut

A year ago I started working at Buttonwood Farm IceCream in Griswold, Conn. It was my first real job that I’dever had before. I remember feeling both excited, butextremely nervous at the same time. I did not know any ofthe other girls that worked there. Was I going to get alongwith them? Would we have things in common to talkabout? All kinds of questions like these came barrelingthrough me for the first couple of weeks of work.

A year ago I had just turned sixteen. I was still growing asa young adult and learning how to talk to people, whichcan be very hard because I always was shy and very quietwhen I met someone for the first time. Thankfully it isimpossible not to love working at Buttonwood and love thepeople that you are working with.

My first year taught me a lot. I learned how to talk withcustomers and make sure they get what they want. Onething that took me by surprise was how much work scoop-

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NICRA November 2006 7

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8 NICRA November 2006

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

want your store to look and your employees to act when acustomer walks through the door. Are the doors and tablesclean? Does your employee greet the customer promptlyand cheerfully? Are the ice creams stocked and scraped?Is the ice cream area clean and stocked? What is the con-dition of the back room? Have orders been put away andis it clean and tidy?

Write down what these standards are and incorporate theminto your training guide. Also use it as the basis of one ofyour all-employee meetings. Quiz them on these and makesure they are the basics of their job.

We also take basic standards for employment and call themour “Non-Negotiables” (thank you Bob Negen!). Ours arehonesty, timeliness, attendance at all employee meetings,following health standards, following opening and closingchecklists, cleanliness, and a positive attitude. If you can’tmeet those items, you can’t work for us. If you violatethem one time, you’re gone.

I was talking about these to a fellow operator at the lastGLIC&FFA Convention, and she had an employee that wasviolating several of what would be my non-negotiables. Itold her to fire the employee. But they were a friend of thefamily, etc, etc. She did end up letting the employee goand told me later that she felt better and so did the rest ofher employees. When you cut out the dead weight, youwill do wonders for the morale of the rest of your staff.

Finally, we have operational standards. We use an openingand closing checklist for each and every shift to ensure thatall of the work gets done daily. We have an official timeoff request form for employees to fill out. We have com-munication logs so that if an issue comes up all employeesknow about it. They are required to read it as they sign indaily.

We also have standards on how long things should take. Itshould take no longer than 1 hour to make a tray of wafflecones, 45 minutes to make a batch of dipped cones, youshould be able to get the front cleaned up and closed in 20minutes, etc. All of these things are used to battle what Iwould call “the creep.” If you don’t pay attention, beforeyou know it the windows aren’t washed every shift, youcan’t find the stapler and the ice cream order might get putaway tomorrow.

Employees can make us or break us. Our cost of labor issomething that we monitor weekly. I set my target laborgoal yearly, and then after every payroll I check to makesure that I am within my goals. If I am having a hard timemaking my goal, I change my schedule. I will take myprojected sales volume and multiply it by my target laborpercent to get a target labor cost for the week. Then I willtake that and divide it by my average labor cost to get thetotal number of hours I can schedule for that week. I final-

NICRA ACTIVE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

HOW TO STREAMLINEYOUR OPERATIONS

By Kelly LarsonSkoops Ice CreamGrand Haven, MI

How do you take the step from being the only employee tohaving 12 or 20? How can you manage another location?It is so difficult to be in your shop all of the time so howdo you ensure that your standards and methods are the onesbeing taught and used?

Our goal has always been to create systems of accountabil-ity for the young people who work for us. We like them tolearn their jobs as ice cream scoopers and then want to takeon more responsibility. This in turn makes our lives easieras well.

We start with standards. We have a couple of differentones. The first would be the snapshot in time of how you

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Page 9: National Ice Cream Retailers Association · PDF fileNational Ice Cream Retailers Association NOVEMBER 2006 ... while working on his teaching degree at Boston ... On a lighter note,

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Page 10: National Ice Cream Retailers Association · PDF fileNational Ice Cream Retailers Association NOVEMBER 2006 ... while working on his teaching degree at Boston ... On a lighter note,

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

10 NICRA November 2006

We do let our managers close the day’s receipts. I have asystem at each store and train them personally. I’d ratherget the money out than make sure I get to each store everynight. I’d go crazy!

Our ultimate goal is to be Better, Faster, Friendlier thanany other ice cream shop around. My job is to teach myemployees, not to be an employee. I help them when theyget busy and I can still outrun them, but age is starting tocatch up with me! They know that I care about them andwith the tools I give them together we run a very efficientoperation.

BUTTONWOOD FARMS RAISESOVER $32,000 FOR MAKE-A-WISHFOUNDATION

Kim & Duane Button, owners of Buttonwood Farms,Griswold, Conn., held their third annual Sunflowers forWishes®. All gross sales from this fundraising effort aredonated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut.In the nine-day period that started July 29th and endedAugust 6th the Buttons raised over $32,000 making thethree years of fundraising for their Sunflowers For Wishesprogram total over $100,000.

Duane plants ten acres of sunflowers in the Spring andfrom these fields thousands of gorgeous blooms are cut andmade into bouquets. These bouquets are then sold to thepublic. The Buttons give their time, hard work, the sun-flower seeds, the wages for extra help, the tee-shirts, andall are donated to Make-A-Wish. While admitting that icecream sales spike throughout the days of fundraisingefforts, his reward is not that. Duane says simply, “Myreward, and what makes this all worthwhile, are the com-ments and gratitude of the mothers of the children thathave benefited from the Make-A-Wish program. Whenthey see me and talk to me and I feel and hear their appre-ciation, that’s where the reward is for me.”

BRIAN WALSH, TAYLORFREEZER NEW ENGLAND, DIEDUNEXPECTEDLY

Brian J. Walsh, 53, died unexpectedly while vacationing inItaly on September 24, 2006. He graduated from NeedhamHigh School in 1973 and was a 1981 graduate of SanDiego State University. Brian worked for Taylor Freezer ofNew England for over 20 years and was a member of theMassachusetts Restaurant Association. He was an avidgolfer. His wife of 23 years Cindy (Murphy) and threedaughters, Kristin, Kelly and Kara survive him. The funeralmass was held Thursday, October 5, 2006 at St. John theEvangelist Church. Donations may be made to the RonaldMcDonald House, 229 Kent St., Brookline, MA 02446.

ly take my schedule and count how many hours I’ve sched-uled. If I’m above my target, I need to find where I cantrim it down or where I personally have to pick up somehours.

For instance, if I think I’m going to sell $5000 next weekand my labor goal is 17 percent, I take 5000 X 0.17 =$850. Right now my average labor cost is about $8 so Iknow I only have about 106 hours to schedule. I do sched-ule for sunshine and my employees know it. We are in aresort community so sunshine is the number one thing thataffects my business. I do a lot of on call shifts and we alsosend kids home after the rush. If I can push my labor per-centage down one percent every year and still give the fan-tastic service we’re known for, that is big money in mypocket. That’s why I monitor it weekly.

Cost of goods is obviously the other category that needs tobe watched. We check in every order because deliverydrivers do make mistakes. We periodically check itemsfrom many distributors to make sure we are getting the bestpricing. With gas surcharges this year, I order less fre-quently to save a bit of money. I look for local distributionso I don’t have to pay shipping charges. I also have a foodpolicy for my employees, but they do have limits. We defi-nitely do not give free handouts to friends.

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Page 12: National Ice Cream Retailers Association · PDF fileNational Ice Cream Retailers Association NOVEMBER 2006 ... while working on his teaching degree at Boston ... On a lighter note,

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

NICRA PROMOTION

This year only one company submitted a promotion for theNational Ice Cream Retailers Association Promotion of theYear award so the contest was canceled. However, wethought you would like to read about the promotion and asummary follows.

Giovanni and Itzel Bruno have owned Lita’s DivineCreamery in Lake Mary, Fla. for the past two years. Lita isthe name of Gio and Itzel’s daughter. This year they didpromotions nearly every month in their store. They used in-store posters, flyers, ads in the newspapers, word of mouth,press releases and e-mail blasts to publicize events.

The first took place in February, it was called Girl ScoutsAppreciation Night. Chef Gio featured three Girl Scout icecreams for the event. All three had Girl Scout cookies inthem, thin mint, peanut butter patties and caramel delites.Twenty percent of sales for the evening went to Girl ScoutTroop 562. Coupons were given to customers that came tothe event so that they would return to the store. The GirlScouts were dressed in cookie outfits and stood outside thestore inviting customers to come in.

In March they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a live lep-rechaun in the store. Children under 12 who were wearinggreen got a free Lita scoop. Adults named Patrick, Patricia,Patty, Pat also got a free scoop with proof of name. Thelive leprechaun passed out gold coins to the children.Featured ice cream included rum raisin, mint chip, andChef Gio’s one of a kind St. Patrick’s Day ice cream.

Then in April they announced that a “Lita” spring is in theair and customers were invited to hop over to Lita’sCreamery to meet and greet the spring time bunny. A liveEaster bunny was in the store to pass out eggs with surpris-es and coupons inside. Chick-a-dee’s Special featured$1.00 scoops for children 12 and under with sprinkles.

For Mothers’ Day, Lita’s featured a live band in theevening. They sold raffle tickets for a $1.00 donation tobenefit the Sanford Crisis Pregnancy Center. They also hadprizes from other local businesses including dinners, giftcertificates, CD player, flowers and candles as well as anice cream cake.

Lita’s Creamery Second Annual Father’s Day contest askedthe questions, “If my dad was an ice cream flavor, whatwould he be and why?” Winning flavors were showcasedthe week of June 12-17, 2006. Winning entries received afree hand packed pint of the winning flavor for dad, alongwith the bragging rights. Winners included S’Mores, vanil-la ice cream, chunks of graham crackers, chocolate andmarshmallow crème; My Daddy’s the Mint, mint ice creamYork™ peppermint patties, fudge swirl and brownie bits;

12 NICRA November 2006

Sami-lishious ice cream, coffee ice cream, dark chocolateswirl, caramel swirl, brownie chunks and walnuts.

The next promotion called “It’s Lita-Bration Time!!!” cele-brated Lita’s fifth birthday with live music, dancing, gamesand prizes. The Lake Mary fire and police department dis-played cars in the parking lot. The cake cutting ceremonytook place at 2:30 PM and scoops of ice cream were $1.50for children 12 and under between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

Lita’s also held a contest to create and name your own icecream. The winner spent an educational and entertaininghour with Chef Gio. The new ice cream was featured in theice cream shop.

The shop partnered with Seminole County Public Schoolsand extended an invitation to the schools to visit Lita’sScoop Academy which featured an educational class onmaking ice cream. The class included a history of icecream, the most popular flavors, and making ice cream.Participants received a diploma, balloon, “Lita” scoop withsprinkles and a drink. The session lasts about 30 to 45 min-utes, depending on the size of the group and the cost is$3.50 per child. The teacher who books the trip is free andadults may order ice cream from the regular menu.

The Promotion of the Year Award is open to all NationalIce Cream Retailers Association active members. So startplanning your promotions for next year and make sure yousubmit them in time to be considered for the award.

ICE CREAM UNIVERSITY NEWS

Ice Cream University is proud to announce the launch ofits newest newsletter, Ice Cream University News. As manyof you already know, education and learning is the essenceof Ice Cream University, the educational arm of MalcolmStogo Associates.

Over the last ten years, we have grown from one seminar ayear to over 40 and our newsletters, Batch Freezer Newsand Ice Cream Store News have become the avenue of howwe reached out to all of our students and clients with freshideas, trends, flavor recipes and solid business advice. Tofurther the growth of our newsletters, we are now going totake a huge step forward.

In September the two newsletters were consolidated intoone, called Ice Cream University News, 16 pages of freshideas in part color and better readable glossy paper.

Subscribers will receive special subscriber only discountsoffered by the equipment and ingredient suppliers. Formore information visit www.icecreamuniversity.org or mal-colmstogo.com, or call 914/478-0610.

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13NICRA November 2006

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NICRA SUPPLIERMEMBER SPOTLIGHT

THE EFFECT OFENERGY AND HOMEVALUES ON YOURBUSINESS

By Rich DraperThe Ice Cream Club

What is the effect of rising energy and flattening homeprices on your business? Economists say the gas prices arenot that high historically when adjusted for inflation. Homeprices, even though they have reached a plateau have notdropped in most markets. However, the consumer mayhave other ideas. Since Americans have very low savings,their perception, irregardless of empirical data, can have amajor affect on their spending.

Traditionally, ice cream had been considered somewhatimmune to negative economic events because it was aninexpensive treat. Consumers may postpone the purchaseof a car or appliance or skip an expensive dinner, but theywould not give up their ice cream. Well now, ice cream isnot always an inexpensive treat. The other day someonementioned to me that they used to regularly make a trip toa new franchise store and their family would spend sixtydollars. For an old school guy, that got my attention.Because of high rents and costs to operate, and the need tocharge more, ice cream shops are now more affected bynegative economic events than before.

Another related factor is diminished travel. When fuel ishigh and people don’t see their home prices rising, they cutback on discretionary spending, including travel. Everyoneknows visitors and vacationers spend much more thanlocals on dining out and visiting ice cream stores.

So how can you combat this current trend. Fuel prices haveretreated some. Mortgage rates have come down some. Buttimes have changed and now is a good time to remind yourcustomers and communities that your store and productsare a great value. Consider more advertising and promo-tion. Offer steep discounts on your slowest night of theweek. Offer 1/2 priced drinks with the purchase of a doublescoop. Discount your take home products. Ice CreamCakes have always been a great value, maybe now throwin a $5.00 gift certificate with each cake purchase.

In general, let folks know you are an affordable indul-gence. Make sure you make every customer experience apleasurable one. They don’t have to get in their car andleave their house, make them want to.

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SMITH DAIRY PRODUCTS RISES TOTHE TOP

Smith Dairy Products Company, regional maker of dairyproducts, beverages and ice cream announced that industryassociation Quality Chekd Dairies, Inc. has honored it with11 awards of excellence for 2006, continuing a winningstreak of more than 20 years.

“We consider recognition from Quality Chekd to be one ofthe highest honors in our industry,” said Penny Baker, mar-keting manager for Smith Dairy. “The organization assess-es the quality of our operation and our products, so anaward from them demonstrates the level at which we serveour customers and consumers.”

“That they have recognized Smith Dairy for so long showsthat we have consistently excelled in providing customersand consumers the best, that we’re the crème de la crème,so to speak,” Baker continued.

From its facilities to its products to its marketing andbranding program, Smith Dairy was honored by QualityChekd at the annual QCS Purchasing & LeadershipConference. Awards include:

Plant Assessment Excellence Award, recognizes that theSmith Dairy plant received a Quality Chekd assessmentscore of 95 percent or higher, based on criteria such asfacility maintenance, housekeeping, product safety and pro-tection, sanitation, pest control, supplier quality, fooddefense and more.

Production Merit of Excellence Awards for Smith Dairy’soutstanding milk, cultured and ice cream products whichreceived exemplary testing scores, indicating quality per-formance levels far above government and organizationcompliance standards.

Seven Marketing Merit of Excellence Awards recognizesSmith Dairy’s innovative and creative marketing programs.Quality Chekd presented the company with Best New Non-Quality Chekd Package Design - Ice Cream; Best OriginalRadio Spot - Milk; Best Quality Chekd Promotion; BestNon-Quality Chekd Promotion; Best Print Ads - Culturedand other; and Best Collateral Material or Brochure. Inaddition, Quality Chekd named Smith Dairy a finalist forthe Harlie F. Zimmerman Award for marketing excellenceand best communication of brand essence.

Smith Dairy has been family-owned since 1909 and head-quartered in Orrville, Ohio, with production facilities inOhio and Indiana. The company manufactures a full line ofdairy, beverage, ice cream, and foodservice products.Quality Chekd Dairies is a member-owned organization of40 independent dairy processors headquartered inNaperville, Ill.

RECIPE CORNER

All of these recipes are based on 2-1/2 gallons of mix.Adjust to your personal tastes.

BIRTHDAY CAKE1-1.5 - quarts Cake Batter Base1-quart Buttercreme FrostingAdd Cake Batter at the beginning of run.Variegate the Buttercreme into the product.Plain Birthday Cake ice cream delete the variegate.

CAPPUCCINO CRUNCH7-8 oz. Cappuccino Flavor1 quart Cappuccino Variegate1- quart Chocolate covered coffee beansAdd Cappuccino at the beginning of the run.Variegate the Cappuccino into the product and addChocolate Covered Coffee Beans.

DULCE DE LECHE16-20 oz. Dulce de Leche Base1.5 quarts Caramel VariegateAdd Dulce at the beginning of the run.

PEACH COBBLER20 oz. Peach Puree1 quart Peach Chunks1 quart Graham VariegateAdd Peach at the beginning of the run. Variegate Peachand Graham Variegate into the finished product.

These recipes are compliments of Tom Zak, ConcordFoods/Oringer Division. If you have recipes that youwould like added in future NICRA Bulletins, email them [email protected].

BAIRD & WARNER SCOOP IT UPFOR WINGS

Capannari Ice Cream announced the winner of its NameYour Flavor for October. Shaunna Burhop and TammieBenyk of Baird & Warner, Arlington Heights, Ill. were thewinners of the auction prize donated to the Baird &Warner/WINGS Day at the Races event.

Shaunna and Tammie’s flavor is caramel taffy apple icecream. The two were celebrity scoopers at the debut of theflavor. They donned Capannari hats, were given a quicktraining lesson on scooping ice cream and proceeded toserve hundreds of eager guests.

Capannari donated 10% of the sales for the week back toWINGS for the event. It is fun to create a promotion thatwill benefit a local organization. Shaunna and Tammie dida great job in maximizing the benefit for the WINGSgroup. They had a great time serving it up.14 NICRA November 2006

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COLD STONE CREAMERYPARTNERS WITH PEPSI

Cold Stone Creamery® announced a multi-year agreementmaking Pepsi-Cola North America its exclusive beveragesupplier. Cold Stone will carry a variety of carbonated andnon-carbonated Pepsi products in 20-oz. bottles format,including Pepsi®, Diet Pepsi®, Sierra Mist®, MountainDew® and Aquafina®. The agreement marks the firstexclusive beverage partnership for the company.

“Cold Stone Creamery shares our passion for innovation,making them a great partner for Pepsi,” said Scott Siers,vice president of industry relations and business develop-ment, Pepsi-Cola North America. “Their vision is focusedon providing customers with an enjoyable experience andwe look forward to playing a role in their continued suc-cess.”

“Pepsi matches our enthusiasm when it comes to deliveringthe best possible product to our customers,” said KevinMyers, vice president of sales and marketing, Cold StoneCreamery. “Their creativity and marketing expertise willcertainly play a significant role as we continue to developnew menu items that will excite ice cream lovers.”

Cold Stone Creamery is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz.and is an independently owned franchise system with morethan 1,350 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, Japanand Korea.

MASTER-BILT PROMOTES TWO

Master-Bilt, manufacturer of a full line of commercialrefrigeration systems for over 65 years, proudly announcesthe promotions of Kenny Owen to operations manager andPat Melvin to engineering manager, effective immediately.

“Kenny (Owen) and Pat’s (Melvin) hard work at Master-Bilt over the past 14 and 12 years, respectively, has giventhem extensive knowledge and experience in this industry,which is critical for our customers,” says President ChuckDawson. “Their commitment to Master-Bilt is evident andwe’re excited to watch them grow in their new positions.”

Owen has 14 years of experience with refrigeration engi-neering, distribution, selling and customer service. Hestarted with Master-Bilt in 1992 as senior design engineerand quickly evolved to become the engineering manager ofthe beverage division in 1994. In 1998 he became engi-neering manager over all engineering at Master-Bilt. Owenenjoys working with Master-Bilt’s clientele in order toensure delivery of quality refrigeration units.

In his new role, Owen will be responsible for the NewAlbany, Miss. manufacturing facility, and will head up itspurchasing, materials and distribution efforts.

Melvin has nearly 12 years of diverse experience in refrig-eration, designing and engineering walk-ins, cabinets andrefrigeration systems. He will now take over for Owen asengineering manager.

NICRA November 2006 15

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2006 NICRA OFFICERS

PresidentRich Johnson, Tasty Time Ice Cream, Folsom, Calif.President ElectMark Leichtman, MaggieMoo’s Intl., Columbia, Md.Vice PresidentJim Mitchell, Woodside Farm Creamery, Hockessin, Del.Secretary/TreasurerVince Giordano, Sno Top, Manlius, New YorkSecretary/Treasurer ElectBob Turner, Dairy Corner, Urbana, OhioPast PresidentSteve Carberry, Carberry’s Homemade, Merritt Island, Fla.Executive DirectorLynda Utterback, Elk Grove Village, Illinois

2006 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2006

Katie Dolan Dix, Capannari’s Ice CreamMt. Prospect, Ill.

Cliff Freund, Cliff’s Dairy MaidLedgewood, New Jersey

Karen Gagne, Karen’s KreamerySurprise, Arizona

Juergen Kloo, Joy Cone Co.Hermitage, Pennsylvania

Bill Meagher, Lakeside CreameryDeep Creek Lake, Md.

Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2007

Lynn Dudek, Ruth Ann’sNo. Muskegon, Michigan

Mary Humphreys-Goldenthal, Springer’s Ice CreamStone Harbor, New Jersey

George Lochhead, Lochhead Mfg.Evergreen, Colorado

Dick Warren, Four SeasCenterville, Mass.

Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2008

Ken Bethge, Maurer’s Ice CreamShamokin, Pennsylvania

Duane Button, Buttonwood FarmGriswold, Connecticut

Rick Dietsch, Dietsch BrothersFindlay, Ohio

Rod Oringer, Concord FoodsBrockton, Massachusetts

John Watts, Bridger Ridge Ice CreamBelgrade, Montana

CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST

I IN F

TALIAN MPORTEDATURAL LAVORS

G S I CELATO ORBETO CE REAMfor

TORRONALBAFLAVORSB OUY NLINEwww.icaffe.com

Partial Listing Only:Hazelnut Paste, Pistachio PasteItalian Kiss, Tiramisu', Passion Fruit,Zabajone, Wild Berries,Coffee Cream ...

www.icaffe.com1-800-424-4221

2006 SUPPLIER OFFICERS

PresidentJay Rentschler, Upstate Farms Co-op

Buffalo, New YorkVice PresidentRich Draper, Ice Cream Club, Inc.

Boynton Beach, Fla.Secretary/TreasurerTom Zak, Concord Foods

Brockton, MassachusettsChairmanMargaret Anderson, Taylor Freezer of New England

Norwood, Massachusetts

This Bulletin is published by: National Ice Cream Retailers Association1028 West Devon AvenueElk Grove Village, IL 60007-7226847/301-7500 • Fax: 847/301-8402e-mail: [email protected] • Web: www.nicra.orgJim Mitchell, Chairman Publications CommitteeLynda Utterback, Editor©2005 National Ice Cream Retailers AssociationVol. 27, No. 11

Make Your Plans Now to AttendNICRA’s 74th

Annual MeetingCrowne Plaza Riverwalk

San Antonio, TexasNovember 7-10, 2007

NICRA November 200616