IFMA's 2023 Gold Plate Award Presented to Jessica Shelly
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CHICAGO, May 21, 2023 ~ The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) recently held their 69th Annual Gold & Silver Plate Awards Celebration, where Jessica Shelly, Director of Student Dining Services for Cincinnati Public Schools, was presented with the coveted 2023 Gold Plate Award. Shelly was nominated in the "Elementary & Secondary Schools" category by P&G Professional and Nestlé Professional and selected from the nine honorees who took home 2023 Silver Plate awards.

The Gold & Silver Plate Awards is the longest-running and most respected awards program in foodservice. Each year, a distinguished jury of industry experts weighs the merits of candidates who represent the best in the industry. Winners receive the Silver Plate Award and one is then chosen by secret ballot to receive the Gold Plate Award for overall industry excellence.

At the awards ceremony, Shelly was lauded by her mentor, Chief Operating Officer of Cincinnati Public Schools, Chris Burkhardt who told the attending crowd that Shelly "has right-sized, trained, led, coached, strategized, and innovated to become one of the most respected K-12 directors in the country." In accepting her award, Shelly thanked her husband, three sons and team before expressing her gratitude to food manufacturers who make up a majority of event attendees: "You here tonight are the reason I can feed my kids nutritious meals every day – because you're so dedicated to your businesses. Thank you for helping me nourish our future."

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As Director of Student Dining Services for Cincinnati Public Schools, Shelly is responsible for overseeing service of over 60,000 meals each day at 67 schools. Her unique implementations such as salad bars and cultural spice stations in every school have made her a trailblazer in school nutrition. In addition to these initiatives she has also implemented reimbursable meal vending machines; a clean label initiative; and a local small business minority-owned purchasing focus.

The other 2023 Silver Plate recipients were Dickie Brennan (Independent Restaurants), David Deno (Chain Full Service), Sharon Eliatamby (Business & Industry/Foodservice Management), Jill Horst (Colleges & Universities), Chef Max Knoepfel (Travel & Leisure), Rob Lynch (Chain Limited Service), Mendy Meriwether (Grocery Convenience & Specialty Retail) and Randall J Sparrow (Healthcare).

IFMA President & CEO Phil Kafarakis said that "the nine honorees in this year's class are inspiring" adding that "hearing from their mentors during our awards ceremony – something we added this year – also brought home the knowledge that we all benefit from wisdom and counsel of those that came before us". The 2024 Gold & Silver Plate Awards Celebration will be held on Saturday May 18th 2024.
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