This year, the NICA Foundation experienced an overwhelming response of Scholarship Applicants who applied to receive a scholarship to assist in furthering their education. Although we regret that we could not award everyone who applied, we are grateful they did and hope to grow the program to include more recipients each year. They all showed discipline by applying, they all have worthy stories, and we wish all of them very successful outcomes from their commitment to education. Stay "All in!" when working on your future, and we hope to hear from you again next year. 2024 Scholarship Applications will be available in Early Spring 2024.
We are excited to announce two upcoming events held at the Clay County Fair and The Big E in September. First, join us in Iowa on Tuesday, September 12th for the last NICA Midwest Member Gathering of the 2023 season at the Clay County Fair, hosted on the Fairgrounds at the Coke Pavilion. Next, join us in Massachusetts on Wednesday, September 13th across the street from the The Big E at Lattitude Restaurant for Brown Bag Bingo, hosted by the NICA East Council. At both NICA Council events, enjoy greetings from the Fair and NICA Leadership, as well as NICA updates, door prizes, food and refreshments, great dialogue, and more! All Food and Beverage Vendors and Commercial Exhibitors are encouraged to attend. We hope to see you there!
Tap or Select the Flyers Below for More Information:
Join Us in Las Vegas for NICA Marketplace: Early Bird & Trade Show Registration Now Available!
Dear Business Owners, Managers, Fair Industry Leaders, Trade Show Exhibitors, and YOU! We are proud to announce the upcoming 2023 NICA Marketplace, "Together!" event, taking place December 3-6, 2023 at the Tuscany Suites and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, where we will share ideas, networking, products, and services. Ever since we held our inaugural event last year, we are continuing to receive positive responses from our Attendees and Trade Show Exhibitors. 2022 Exhibitor James Toler, Florida’s Best, noted, “At this convention, I was able to accomplish in two days something I had been attempting to do for eight years. The Trade Show was absolutely invaluable for my company and I cannot stress enough how positive my experience was overall.”
NICA Marketplace, "Together!" will feature a non-exclusive Trade Show, Educational Sessions led by hands-on Event Industry Thought Leaders, and Networking Opportunities that are welcome and comfortable—a place where we all understand we are Customers of each other and "Together" we share a Fair Guest to serve. We are proud to welcome many new and returning Trade Show Exhibitors to this year’s event including Aspire/Otis Spunkmeyer, Beach Cities, Berk, Boxed Water, Entegra, Fare Foods, Florida's Best, Goodyear, Heinz, Holten Meats, Hummel Group, JKJ Workforce, The Langlois Company, McCain Foods, McGowan Allied Specialty Insurance, OA Finance, Pactiv, Smithfield, Sysco, and Tyson/Advanced Pierre. See you in Vegas!
You must sign in to your Online Member Account when registering to receive your special rate. If you do not have an account or are not sure what it is, you can Create Your Account today; if you do not receive a verification or reset link in your email, you may not have a valid email on file.
Stay tuned to NICA's emails, social media and www.nicainc.org/marketplace for upcoming event information, programming updates, and more. If you have any questions or require registration assistance, please contact us at (813) 438-8926 or reply to this email. "Together We Can!"
We received the heartbreaking news that Maelyn, infant daughter of NICA Member Trent Wilkes, Wilkes Concessions, passed away unexpectedly in August. The family shared the following:
Maelyn Kate Wilkes, infant daughter of Trent and Katie (Wells) Wilkes of Linton, Indiana, went to Heaven on Sunday, August 27, 2023, in Naples, Florida.
Family left to cherish the memory of Maelyn include: her parents, Trent and Katie Wilkes; Big sister, Finn Hadley; Maternal grandparents, Tom and Stacy Wells; Paternal grandparents, Chuck and Jill Wilkes; Aunt, Madison Wilkes; Maternal great-grandfather Larry Poe; Paternal great-grandfather, Richard ‘Dick’ Goodman, all of Linton; Several close friends and extended family that she was already so loved by.
Maelyn was preceded in death by Maternal great-grandparents, Arlene Poe, Tom and Betty Wells; Paternal great-grandparents, Karen Goodman, Bill and Ruth Wilkes; Infant uncle Quinton Wilkes and Infant cousin Ryder Wilson.
In honor of Maelyn, memorial contributions may be made to Saron United Church of Christ in Linton.
Login as a NICA Member to Use the Updated NICA Sysco Marketplace Savings Tool Online
We invite you to utilize the NICA Sysco Marketplace Savings Tool, last updated this week. NICA, Sysco, and Entegra are committed to your success and believe that utilizing this tool will drive savings and increased profits for your business. We have matched similar items that would offer savings. The suggested items are very close alternatives and any that are not considered exact matches will have explanations to the far right. To start, sort to the Sysco distribution house you will be purchasing from and see the common items that are being purchased at that house.
How Does it Work?
Login to your NICA Member Account at www.nicainc.org/login or by selecting the button below
Access the Savings Tool under Benefits
Sort to your distribution house in column “A”
See current items being purchased in columns “B-F”
See suggested alternative columns “J-N”
Decide if this is a fit for you and update order guide to reflect new item
Enjoy savings!
If you know that you will be attending a certain event, look ahead and see the items you may already be buying and make adjustments. This is a great way to take advantage of additional values available to you. Because we only look at valid, actionable conversions, there may not be a savings opportunity for every item. Although only in stock items are considered, you should always confirm availability through your local Sysco Representative. You should also make them aware of any item changes so inventories may be adjusted.
Entegra will update this tool monthly to reflect the most recent purchases by Concessionaires. Keep checking back for more updates! If you haven't enrolled yet with the NICA Sysco Marketplace, please apply at the link below.
Do you have any news or resources you would like to share with us? Reply to this email, post on our Social Media pages, or utilize our Submit Your Content tool. "Together We Can!"
Good news is we saw minimal impact from the hurricane in Florida last week but production is light due to the extended Labor Day weekend. The jumbo breast continues to rise FAST. Medium and small breasts were flat. Wings are up on all sizes. Tenders are higher on all sizes. Whole birds were up. Dark meat was up across the board.
Pork
Butts markets remain strong, but demand should decline after labor day and bring the markets down. Ribs are holding steady right now with little signs of movement. Loins are coming down due to less demand from retail. Bellies are still on a sharp decline.
Beef
With the short week ahead, last-minute needs and fill-in orders are expected to make up most of the sales. Tenders and strips are the middle meats needing some support due to limited demand. Ribs, per packers, have found a launch point for holiday price increases, but that may be wishful thinking. Chucks and rounds are still showing solid demand. Grinds are limited in supply.
Eggs / Dairy
Shell Egg markets steady. Cheese markets are up this week and look to remain steady. Butter markets are down again, but still have some bullish overtones. Cream and Culture pricing will increase for most of the country. California will remain flat for September pricing.
Grains / Oil
Soybean oil markets traded sideways. Traders are exiting some of their positions, driving futures lower. Weather is a concern, but the narrative has changed from improving crops to hindering harvest. Canola is struggling to make gain. Palm is slightly higher, but exports have declined, and production has increased.
Seafood
Alaskan King Crab season has been canceled for the 6th year in a row. When looking for options to king crab, Golden king crab and Santolla crab (South American) are great options.
Avocado
Supplies are tight on 40s and larger and market is high. The market on 48s declined last week and expected to hold steady for a bit, 60s/70s/84s is expected to remain flat. All #2 fruit is short in supply.
Citrus
Lemons – Demand is high. Fancy grade and small sizes are extremely tight. Expect supplies to be tight in September as Argentina and Chile are expected to finish early this season. The desert crop is expected to start early to mid–October.
Oranges – Strong demand and tight supplies on small sizes 113–138’s, small sizes expected to remain tight through the Valencia season. Crop peaking on 72’s and larger. The market continues to strengthen on 88’s and smaller.
Limes – Still limited supplies of good quality on 110–175’s, most of the volume is in 230–250s, demand has slowed but in response to the higher prices.
Peppers
East – Green pepper supply is very light, demand good, and quality very good. Red and yellow bells are in extremely short supply.
West – Green supply is good, red is improving and yellow remains limited.
The September 2023 issue of NICA News has the theme, "All In For the Future!"
Featuring 2023 NICA Foundation Scholarship Recipients, Event Information and Program Schedule for NICA Marketplace, "Together!" Election Ballot information, Save the Date for 2024, Gatherings in the Midwest, A Message From the NICA Foundation, Midwest Photos, and more!
NICA is a membership-driven organization dedicated to strengthening relationships with the Fair, Festival, and Special Events Industries through effective communication, benefits, education, leadership, and solutions.
We received the heartbreaking news that Maelyn, infant daughter of NICA Member Trent Wilkes, Wilkes Concessions, passed away unexpectedly in August. The family shared the following:
