PFMA adds three industry veterans to its Board of Directors

There are some new faces on the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association Board of Directors.

The association recently appointed to the Board:
Gary Fechter, Wegmans Senior Vice President for the Pennsylvania Division.
Bill Crosby, Vice President of Operations for ACME Markets; and
Bob Hilmes, Area Sales Director for SuperValue, Inc.

The members fill the spots previously occupied by Blaine Forkell, Dan Croce, and Joe Della Noce, respectively. PFMA would like to thank them for their service and contributions to the Board.

“We are delighted to welcome Gary, Bill, and Bob to the Board,” PFMA President & CEO Alex Baloga said. “All three individuals are recognized business leaders, are incredibly talented, and bring a wealth of experience to PFMA. We are fortunate to have them on our team, advocating for the interests of our members.”

In his current role, Fechter is  responsible for the operations of 16 Wegmans stores across Pennsylvania. He joined Wegmans in 2013, formerly serving as Regional Vice President for Romano’s Macaroni Grill restaurants.

Fechter has held senior multi-unit operations leadership positions spanning 20 years with large companies such as Boston Market, Blockbuster Video, Panera Bread, and Qdoba Mexican Grill. He has corporate and franchise operations experience with both startups and turnarounds.

Fechter has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Florida. He has served as Chairman of the Civic Engagement Committee, as well as a member of the Board of Governors for Leadership Palm Beach County. In addition, he has served on the Board of Directors of For The Children, Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Crosby is responsible for ACME’s South Philadelphia and suburban locations, including portions of Delaware County, the Main Line, Chester County, as well as Delaware, Maryland, southcentral New Jersey and the Jersey Shore.
 
Holmes has more than 40 years of industry experience, beginning his SuperValu career in 1986 as a zone sales manager with the company’s Shop ’n Save banner stores in the Pittsburgh market. He later held account manager and perishable manager positions for Shop ’n Save and County Market stores.
 
For the past seven years, Holmes has served as Director of Territory Sales for the Shop ’n Save stores as well as other independent grocery stores in western Pennsylvania.