Bristol Farms’ Lynn Melillo Becomes CGA Board Chair
Lynn Melillo, VP of asset management at Carson, Calif.-based Bristol Farms, was elected 2023-24 California Grocers Association (CGA) chair of the board of directors at the trade organization’s annual meeting on Dec. 1.
As chair, Melillo will oversee CGA’s various legislative, educational and industry-related programs for a term of one year. The association comprises more than 350 retail companies operating 6,000-plus stores in the West. Melillo succeeds Dennis Darling, owner of Clearlake-based Foods, Etc.
[Read more: “CGA Gets VP, Government Relations”]
“Lynn’s robust career in grocery has equipped her with intimate knowledge of the industry and CGA’s legislative priorities,” said Ron Fong, president and CEO of Sacramento-based CGA. “Her passion and dedication will serve our members and industry well over the next year.”
Melillo brings to her new role more than 40 years of experience in the grocery industry, the last 28 of them at Bristol Farms, where she oversees compliance, employee safety, customer safety, loss prevention and insurance and risk for Bristol Farms Lazy Acres, and New Leaf Community Markets. She holds a certificate in human resources management, business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. Melillo also sits on CGA’s enterprise risk protection and government relations committees.
Along with Melillo, the following people were elected to the 2023-24 CGA board of directors executive committee: first vice chair, Steve Dietz, UNFI; second vice chair, Michel LeClerc, North State Grocery; treasurer, Richard Wardwell, Superior Grocers; secretary, Jonson Chen, Tawa Supermarket Inc.; and immediate past chair, Dennis Darling, Foods Etc.
Directors elected to their first full three-year team were Gary Bickmore, FMS Solutions; Kevin Young, Young’s Payless IGA; JR Medina, Super A Foods; Rocky Campbell, C&K Markets; Joe Toscano, Nestlé Purina PetCare; Jeremy Runge, Gopuff; Brad Thomas, Kimberly-Clark Corp.; Casey Scharetg, E. & J. Gallo Winery; and Nick Sass, The Hershey Co.
Directors elected to their second full three-year term were Elaina Budge, Costco Wholesale; Tyler Kidd, Mar-Val Food Stores Inc.; Diane Snyder, Whole Foods Market; Kelli McGannon, The Kroger Co.; Mary Kasper, 99 Cents Only Stores; and Josh Southerland, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling.
Elliott Stone, of Mollie Stone’s Markets, was re-elected executive committee-independent operators committee chair, while former CGA Chair Renee Amen, of Super A Foods, was elected an honorary board member.
Bristol Farms operates 14 stores in Southern California. It’s an independent operator within the Good Food Holdings family of brands. A subsidiary of Emart (which is part of The Shinsegae Group, a global retailer in Seoul, South Korea), Carson-based Good Food Holdings is also the holding company for four other food retailing brands: Metropolitan Market, Lazy Acres Natural Market, New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets. Bristol Farms was one of Progressive Grocer’s Top Regionals.
