No, this isn’t just one person, it is the total weight lost in just two weeks by the Avendra Weight Watchers group! 

A total of 21 associates have signed up so far for the on-site meetings, which are hosted by Avendra as one of our new Healthy Living wellness initiatives. The group meets every Wednesday for a weigh-in and an informational seminar from our Weight Watchers coach. 

Avendra associates can sign up for the on-site meeting package or just the online program. With Avendra subsidizing 50% of the cost, this made it the perfect time for me to get serious about losing weight. So far it hasn’t been too hard. The trick seems to be to track the food that you eat (and the associated points) and measure how much you are eating. It is very enlightening when you use a scale or measuring cup to measure your portion size.

Join me in congratulating the group on their success so far!

 Associates interested in joining can find more details on our Healthy Living site.

Seafood fraud is a rising issue in the foodservice industry – as a matter of fact, only 2% of seafood imported to the U.S. and 5% of that in Canada undergoes inspection. As a result, bait and switch tactics have run rampant, with suppliers intentionally mislabeling cheaper species and representing them as their rarer, more expensive counterparts.

Cory Dellinger, our strategic contracting manager for seafood at Avendra, has been at the helm of our efforts to combat this dishonest practice and provide innovative solutions to help guarantee that our customers are getting the fish they paid for.

“U.S. Customs scans all seafood entering the country, but their main concern centers around radiation or other unsafe materials, not the accuracy of the labels,” said Dellinger. “That’s part of what prompted Avendra to be proactive about testing our suppliers’ seafood.”

Avendra’s Quality Assurance team is in the habit of communicating directly with our distributors to promote transparency regarding the source of their fish, and most recently, we’ve implemented seafood DNA testing to ensure the accuracy of product labeling. By sending 1-ounce random samples to independent labs for analysis, Avendra takes its quality assurance guarantees one step further.

Click here for more information.

All associates are eligible for Avendra’s Profit Sharing Incentive Plan, but many are unsure of how this great plan works.   With a vesting period occurring at the end of December – and a payment due to be paid in mid January, I thought this was a great time to try and attempt to explain this great benefit.

The plan is designed to take the designated “profit sharing pool” and share it equally (based on salary level) to all eligible associates (all full and part time associates still actively employed on 12/31 of that year).  The result is that the profit sharing incentive amount is the same percent of salary for all associates (usually around 5% of base wages).

Using 2011’s award as an example, below is the timeline for how this year’s award is calculated:

1. December 2011 – the Board determines the percentage of profits that will be available for the profit sharing pool. 
2. Spring 2012 – the audited financial statements are completed and the final profit number is determined.
   • The calculation is performed to determine each eligible associate’s share of the pool.  This calculation uses the associates’ eligible wages (base wages actually paid in the year).
     • For this example, let’s use a base salary paid in 2011 of $50,000 and a percentage of 5% – therefore, the 2011 award would be $2,500.
     • The award letters are given out to the associates along with a statement showing all previous awards/payments (if applicable). 
3. December 31, 2012 – 25% of the award vests – or $625.
4. Mid-January 2013 – associates receive their vested amount(s).

Now let’s roll the clock forward several years.  The chart below shows how these awards can accumulate.   The chart assumes an award of $2,500 each year.

Associates have the choice of contributing their payment to their 401(k) account – or taking the payment in cash (less taxes).  How will you spend your upcoming payment?

From the Desk of Rob Bailey, Director, Field Support.  Ever had a 130 mile an hour Hurricane bearing down on you like a giant freight train? Well that’s how a week in late August started for our customer the Ritz Carlton Abaco finding itself right in the path of a direct hit from Hurricane Irene.

Having responsibility for the Caribbean region during hurricane season is always a challenging time, especially when many of your customers are island resorts right in the middle of hurricane alley. Monitoring the path of hurricanes during peak season can be a daily event and when one starts building to super size and aims directly at a chain of customer islands, it’s time to spring into action.

This was the case with the Ritz Carlton, located on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, a little piece of paradise in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. We first made contact with the resort General Manager three days before the hurricane hit the island. At that time they were in the process of closing down the resort and making plans to evacuate the Executive Team by chartered plane to a command post in Ft. Lauderdale. At that location we would coordinate post hurricane relief efforts for the 190 resort associates whom would stay on the island and weather the storm.

Our plan was to stage suppliers and equipment that would be needed by the island associates once the storm had past. The first wave of supplies would be delivered to the island via chartered cargo plane once conditions allowed at the Marsh Harbor airport in Abaco.

We kept communications open during the storm with the resort purchasing manager who remained on the island using a satellite phone. Some of the dialog during the peak of the storm went like this… “It’s noisy outside as the winds are getting quite strong and we can hear breaking and crashing around outside”… and then the storm was over.

After the hurricane had past it was time to take account of the extent of the damage to the infrastructure on the island and do a final needs assessment to determine the level of direct support and emergency supplies that would be needed. After conducting the damage assessment, miraculously, the little resilient island of Abaco had with stood the force of the category 4 hurricane and it was determined not necessary to pull the trigger on executing the planned relief effort.

Case closed on this one and now on to another day of peak hurricane season in the Caribbean region, watching over our flock of island resorts in the middle of Hurricane Alley.

From the Desk of Sheila Sembly-Crum, Director, Customer Care.  My sister and I have made many trips throughout the nation.  Our latest traveling “journey” ended in Charleston, WV where we still have friends and family.  The Marriott “Friends and Family” rate made our trip more enjoyable.   The “Friends and Family” on-line reservation was effortless and the room rate was significantly less than the original room rate.   Of course, Marriott’s standard of excellence was demonstrated by the staffing at the Charleston Marriott Town Center and the White Water Grille was the topping on the cake.

I would recommend anyone to utilize this program.  It is easy and certainly encourages one to venture out and discover more of America!

From the desk of Vicki Cannon, Payroll/Benefits Specialist…I will be the first to admit that I do not like getting shots.  When I have to get a shot I look away and dream that I am at the beach far-far away.  But, last year when I was in charge of setting up the flu shot screening here at Avendra HQ, I saw how brave my co-workers were – so I decided to step-up to the plate and get a shot.  I sat down, rolled up my sleeve, starting dreaming about the beach and all of the sudden the nurse said you’re all done….”what I didn’t even feel it”.  I was amazed how easy it was and how it did not hurt.  So, my brave co-workers, come on and join me and get a flu shot.

As a commitment to Associates’ wellness, Avendra is working with My Wellness Matters  to administer flu shots on Wednesday October 19^th 2011 from 11AM to 1PM – and will be paying $10 of the $25 fee.

Why should you get the Influenza Vaccine?  You don’t want to spend the winter battling a runny nose, a nagging cough, a sore throat, or a fever.  Influenza (“Flu”) is a contagious disease and by getting the flu vaccine you can protect yourself from influenza and may also avoid spreading influenza to others.    

For more information about the flu, please visit the CDC web site.  www.CDC.gov/flu

From the Desk of Lindsay Billingsley, Manager, Marketing Strategy…We celebrated Avendra’s ten year anniversary last night with a Saturday Night Live theme and performances by many of our own talented associates. 

Over the last few weeks associates may have seen doors and windows to conference rooms covered in paper to hide all of the planning and practicing that went into last night’s program. The Marketing team was excited to finally share with everyone what we’ve been working on all this time. Sitting in the control booth, giving cues to the people operating the cameras and lights, I can tell you exactly how it all went down. The night kicked off with an Avendra cheer from Nakia and Chris inspired by the Spartan Cheerleaders. That led to Dennis’ opening monologue followed by a segment of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach’ played by actor/comedian Michael Levick. Next was the debut of the rap “I Really Think I Need Avendra,” written and performed by Philip, which is sure to top the charts. Sandy, John P and Anthony were all winners in a fun game of Avendra Jeopardy - and everyone was surprised to see a “flash mob” choreographed by Hope and performed by most of the executive team along with several associates.

The laughs continued with a fight between Hans (representing our suppliers and played by Walt) and Franz (representing our customers and played by Wolfram). I’m not sure we ever decided who the girly man was. Avendra’s version of Weekend Update with Jerry and Stacey kept us all laughing. Finally, Captain Avendra (played by John M) held a staff meeting that inspired some great ideas for the future and Dennis closed the program with a look back at the last ten years and a quote from Thomas J. Watson.  “Whenever an individual (or a company) decides success has been attained, progress stops.” His message encouraged us to continue to set high expectations for ourselves, listen well, collaborate, innovate and keep aspiring to be the best.

After the show we enjoyed live music, played by Doctor’s Orders, and wonderful food and drink provided by the Pooks Hill Marriott. Myriam also unveiled our new Milestone Award program which celebrates significant anniversaries associates achieve with Avendra. Every eligible associate will receive a wooden certificate frame noting their anniversary date and a wood desk clock (for 5 years) or a digital picture frame (for 10 years).  We also raffled off some great prizes.

The grand finale was Dennis’ announcement that Avendra associates will now receive discounted hotel rates from our Founders – Marriott, Hyatt and Fairmont. The whole crowd clearly appreciated that gesture and gave a standing ovation. Thank you Founders! And thanks to everyone who helped make the night so much fun!

I think I speak for everyone when I say it was a great way to celebrate ten years of success. I’m curious, what was your favorite part of the evening?

In remembrance of all that was lost that day.

From the Desk of Kimberly McWilliams…

School…As a working adult student and mother, I have had my times of exhaustion, frustration, tears, joy and plain old relief.  Avendra helped me both financially and provided me with a good source of topics for my papers.  Avendra has a generous tuition reimbursement program.  The program afforded me the opportunity take additional classes in a semester and over the summer which would have not have happened otherwise.  Topics ranged from rewards and recognition, knowledge management, processes, global markets and procurement to dealing with conflict.  Associates on all levels were great as references for my papers.  I bounced ideas off my bosses to get their opinions or their take on the subject matter.  I credit my success in school to being able to use Avendra for its great resources.  Why not tap into what Avendra has the best of … its Associates!

From the desk of Julie Piney, Sr. Quality Assurance Manger…Are you ready to grill a fantastic meal for Labor Day?  Below are a few tricks and tips.  We also want to hear about your favorite recipes – so please add them to the post! 

Prep Smart – You can save time soaking bamboo skewers ahead of time.  Soak them in a big batch for an hour, drain, and then freeze them in a plastic bag.  Then just simply pull them out as you need ‘em.

Don’t want those tasty veggies to stick to the grill or dry out?  Try coating them with olive oil prior to grilling.

Ok, now here is the QA tip for prep, keep raw meats and juices away from ready to eat foods.

Grilling Greatness – Sear those steaks to perfection.  After you have let the steaks soak in your special secret marinade, pat them dry on both sides.  Wet steaks don’t sear, they steam.

Take the guesswork out of checking for doneness with a thermometer and a timer.  Cutting into the meat to check for doneness may cause you to lose flavorful juices.

Prevent and extinguish flare ups by putting the lid down.  (Although my husband seems to think beer will work just as well).  When you do that, the amount of oxygen which feeds the fire will be reduced.

Know When It’s Ready – Here is a guide for recommended minimum internal temperatures: 

Remember to avoid cross contamination! Don’t use the same platters and utensils for the cooked tasty morsels that you used when they were raw.

Let It Rest - Although I know it is going to smell delicious once you take the meat off the grill, you should allow the meat to rest.  Let a roast rest 10-20 minutes, or 2-3 minutes for a steak.  Really, there is scientific reasoning behind this, but all we have to know is that you will lose less of the juices when you cut it if you allow for this time.