The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) held its third-annual Fall Legislative Conference at the Hilton Hotel in Harrisburg October 1-2, providing legislative insight and educational opportunities for attendees.
The event featured informational sessions on reputation management, tax reform, and recent
changes and initiatives in the Pennsylvania Lottery, as well as a panel discussion on gaming
and video gaming terminal (VGT) updates. Keynote speaker Jim Glassman, Head Economist
for Commercial Banking for JP Morgan Chase & Co., provided perspective on economic trends
and its impact on the food and beverage industry.
“We’re thankful to our corporate leadership sponsors and our members who help make our fall
conference a success,” PFMA President & CEO Alex Baloga said. “The conference and
educational opportunities are designed to shed light on legislative and policy issues that affect
our members, their employees, and customers.”
Attendees included representatives from retail food establishments, food and beverage
wholesalers, gaming companies, casinos, financial institutions, and other businesses.
Presenters included Tracy Pawelski of PPO&S (Reputation Management); Ed Kollar, Paul
Bishop, and Ilya Lipin of Baker Tilly (Tax Reform Update); Drew Svitko of the Pennsylvania
Lottery (Lottery Program Update); and the panel discussion on gaming/VGT updates included
Rutter’s President & CEO Scott Hartman (moderator), Paul Rankin of Country Fair stores, Amy
Christie of Commonwealth Gaming, and Derek Harmer of Accel Entertainment.
