ABA celebrates its largest convention on record

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ABA celebrates its largest convention on record

31 Mar 2023

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

WASHINGTON, DC —The American Bakers Association (ABA) announced its recent annual convention, which took place March 26-29 in Amelia Island, FL, was the group’s most successful gathering ever.

Registration for the event, which touted a revamped schedule and programming, touted a 34% increase over the 2022 convention and a 9% increase over the 2017 convention, which held the previous attendance record.

Additionally, baker attendance saw an increase of 35% over the previous year, beating pre-pandemic baker registration, according to Samantha Moore, ABA senior director of meetings and education.

“First-time attendee participation broke the previous record from 2022 and was up 41% from 2019,” Moore said, “which meant that attendees were able to forge new relationships more than ever before.”

One key first-time attendee was Eric Dell, president and CEO of ABA, who took the helm earlier this year.

“Not only was this year’s convention the most successful statistically with more than 530 attendees, but it was also the most intrinsically valuable to our association membership,” Dell said. “Through the exchange of diverse perspectives and creative solutions, possibly the most robust convention in our 125+ year history provided attendees with future-focused trends data, business intelligence and leadership strategies they can leverage to power their businesses.”

This year’s convention’s theme, ‘We have always//never done it this way,’ included a reformatted schedule, as well as new social activities and networking opportunities.

“The energy and excitement resonated through the conference,” said Cordia Harrington, ABA board chair and founder and CEO of Crown Bakeries. “More than 500 attendees had the chance to meet Eric and see his passion for advocacy on the Hill, collaboration, servant leadership and genuine commitment to serving members. It was very transparent and energizing for all.”

The 2023 Convention featured increased hours of business session content, extended networking opportunities, and innovative executive leadership speakers.

Speakers included George Blankenship, former Apple and Tesla executive; Jonna Parker, fresh foods team lead for Circana; and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Scott Mann, who delivered the leadership keynote on behalf of the Allied Trades of the Baking Industry (ATBI).

The Convention’s program also informed attendees on regulatory and legislative as ABA’s Professionals Groups chairs policy updates. Executive roundtables gave attendees the opportunity to dive into several topics, including supply chain, sustainability and workforce.

ABA also celebrated a belated 100th anniversary with ATBI at a black-tie gala, which had been postponed when ABA’s convention was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Following the success of the event, I am even more driven to continue expanding ABA’s member value proposition through events like the upcoming DC Fly-In and Policy Summit this November,” Dell said.

The ABA Fly-In and Policy Summit will be held in Washington, DC, November 13-15.

The association’s next annual convention will be April 14-17, 2024.

Visit the American Bakers Association website for more details on these and other upcoming events.

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