We have a great team working on the sofi™ Awards this year, including newcomer Meredith Childs, who grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Meredith celebrated her 24th birthday today, and reports she is delighted to spend it as a sofi temp. Like millions of Americans, Meredith, a graduate of Texas A & M University with a degree in Animal Science, lost her job. She worked for an international executive recruiting firm. I’m happy we found her because she is great at Excel—I get hives just thinking about it—and because she is very enthusiastic about all the interesting products that are flowing into our office here on Wall Street.
The birthday girl logging sofi entries
Meredith grew up in a city where salsa is more common than ketchup, and where good Mexican food is a given, so she was quick to remark on all the delicious-looking salsas that members are submitting for the annual awards. What also caught her attention was, in fact, a bottle of ketchup. This being a specialty food contest, it was no ordinary bottle, but a ketchup flavored with curry. “I’ve never heard of it before,” she says. “I like curry so much.” So guess what I gave Meredith for her birthday: curry-flavored ketchup. She got cupcakes too; a nice thought from Bruce Tanner, our sofi culinary manager.
The boardroom of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc., with its stunning views of New York Harbor, becomes sofi central every spring. This week it is filling up with hundreds of olive oils, chocolates, cookies, cakes, chips, food gifts, and jams. Our project manager, Marilyn O’Hara, has been keeping count. We received 240 entries yesterday. Marilyn says there are even more today. Thursday, April 9, is the deadline for Part 1 of the competition.
-Louise Kramer, NASFT, Communications Director (AKA sofi Director)
Under The Lid 