The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) and the Pennsylvania Distributors Association (PDA) officially merged into one stronger association at the PFMA Annual Meeting on May 11, 2016 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The combined association, which advocates the views of convenience stores, independent grocery stores, supermarkets, wholesaler/distributors and affiliated companies, will operate as the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association.
To ensure their representation, many PDA board members accepted appointments and election to the PFMA board of directors during the annual meeting on May 11. The board of directors expanded from 37 to 43 members. In addition, PFMA will form a Distributor Council to tackle wholesaler/distributor issues.
David L. McCorkle, PFMA president and CEO, continues to lead the association, while PDA President Gerald “Jerry” Kupris provides his expertise as counsel to the PFMA board of directors.
“PFMA and PDA members have worked together on many issues through the years,” McCorkle said. “We are pleased to have PDA join us to make Pennsylvania’s food industry voice stronger.”
“The new organization will maintain and expand upon our reach and effectiveness; augment our ability to be a resource of industry knowledge, and allow us to act as an industry advocate on our positions before the public, lawmakers and our customers,” said Jerry Kupris, PDA president.
