IFEC announced the election of officers and new members of the board of directors for 2015. Sam Oches, editor of QSR magazine, was re-elected to serve a second term as president. Cathy Holley, who is publisher/editor-in-chief for Flavor & The Menu magazine, was elected vice president; Bill Schreiber, founder/president of Bissell Street Public Relations, will serve as secretary; and Rachel Tracy, account manager for Olson Communications, was tapped for the treasurer post.

As editor of QSR magazine, a leading trade publication serving the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries, Oches is an expert in foodservice trends whose insights have been shared in national media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, National Public Radio, and CNBC. A graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Oches previously served as editor in chief of Southeast Ohio magazine and as associate editor and managing editor of QSR. He also writes a quarterly newsletter for Duke Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Hematology-Oncology unit. Oches lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife Katie.

Vice president Cathy Holley has been publisher and editor-in-chief of Flavor & The Menu magazine since it began 16 years ago. Holley started her publishing career with Diversified Communications, as an editor for SeaFood Business and National Fisherman magazines. In 1998, she joined Media Unlimited Inc. to develop Flavor & The Menu, in print six times a year and online at getflavor.com. In 2013, she took over as owner of the brand. With its annual Top 10 Trends issue, Flavor & The Menu serves as a source of flavor and menu trends, strategies, and innovation. Holley lives in Maine and is mom to 13-year-old twins.

Secretary Bill Schreiber, who founded and is president of Bissell Street Public Relations & Marketing, has more than 25 years of PR and marketing experience, 15 of them working with restaurants, foodservice, and baking companies, including Jones Dairy Farm, La Brea Bakery, Sunshine Burger, Bays English Muffins, Little Miss Muffin, Prairie City Bakery, Long Grove Confectionery, and the Windy City BBQ Classic. Schreiber is a Chicago resident, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He serves on the board of directors of the Giving Rocks Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money to help fund medical research for Langerhan’s Cell Histiocytosis, pediatric cancer, and blood diseases.

The managing director of the Culinary Visions Panel, a branded insights practice of Olson Communications, and the author of the Y-Pulse and Culinary Visions annual trend forecast for the foodservice industry, treasurer Rachel Tracy is frequently quoted in trade publications as a trends expert. She is also an account manager for Olson, and, as such, manages a wide range of clients that include: The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, Saputo Cheese USA, and Blue Marble Brands. In addition, Tracy heads up Olson’s Chefs of Tomorrow program for culinary educators and coordinates volunteers for a community program that encourages nutrition literacy for underserved youth in Chicago in cooperation with the McCormick Boys & Girls Club and Les Dames d’Escoffier. Tracy is a member of the Chicagoland Food Executive Women’s Group (FEW) and the International Association for Culinary Professionals (IACP). A Chicago resident who hails from Ohio, she is a graduate of the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio.

New members of the IFEC board of directors are Katie Ayoub, managing editor, Flavor & The Menu; Patty Fitzgerald, editor, School Nutrition; Megan Bykowski, public relations and social media director, Stephan & Brady; and Amy Rosendahl, public relations manager, deep. They join directors Pat Cobe, senior editor, Restaurant Business; Tara Fitzpatrick, associate editor, Food Management; Mallory Jensen, account supervisor, bigInk PR; Sherise Jones, marketing director, SJ Management; and Board Advisor Don Odiorne, vice president of food service, Idaho Potato Commission, in making up IFEC’s governing body.

The elections took place during IFEC’s 2014 conference, held in Dallas in November. Next year’s conference, set for Portland, Maine, November 2–4, will feature local chefs, restaurateurs, growers, and producers conducting demonstrations, workshops, and tours for attendees.

Founded in 1956, IFEC is a 250-member professional association that brings foodservice B2B editors, public relations, and marketing communications professionals together to exchange ideas and resources and explore regional trends. Editor members write for foodservice B2B publications, while PR/marketing members represent foodservice suppliers, restaurants, non-commercial operations, trade groups, and more. Through education and networking activities, tuition assistance for members’ continuing education, and scholarships for students preparing for foodservice communications careers, IFEC strives to encourage high professional and aesthetic standards among those working in and with the foodservice media and the entry of high-caliber individuals into the field.