About Us
Houston Grocery Manufacturer’s Representative Association
Pete Haynes founded the Houston Grocery Manufacturer’s Representative Association (HGMRA) in 1972. Haynes is retired from the Carnation Company and continues to serve the organization as an advisory board member.
The HGMRA’s main service project is the awarding of scholarships to students interested in a career in the food industry. The HGMRA has awarded 949 students over $1.5 million dollars in scholarship funds. These students’ interests have ranged from accounting and pharmacy to marketing and computer science. The HGMRA makes it very clear to the interested applicants that the scope of food industry jobs isn’t confined to a retail grocery store environment.
A unique feature of the scholarship program is that during its entire 38-year history, the HGMRA has joined with the Houston-area retailers to select the very best candidates for these awards. Retailer support of the scholarship program is evident in the mentoring of candidates, in the level of participation as interviewers, in the provisions that nourish the volunteers during the weeklong interviewing process and in the matching of funding that help to defray education costs during the student’s college career.
The scholarship program has changed throughout the years as awards keep up with the increasing cost of getting a college education. Originally, the program awarded high school seniors a scholarship that covered a portion of their full-time college expenses.
Because of a recommendation from the grocery store partners, the program was expanded to include part-time college students who are working full-time for a grocer and are taking at least six hours of coursework per semester. The HGMRA scholarship program has been recognized as one of the finest in the country.
The main fundraisers for the scholarship program are the HGMRA Golf Tournament held early each fall and the April Scholarship Trade Dinner. The dinner is one of the most anticipated events of the year. There is a speaker or program after a social hour and a wonderful dinner as almost 800 people gather to honor scholarship winners. This year’s banquet will be held in April 2010.
Both of these events receive a high level of commitment from the trade. The HGMRA would not be nearly as successful in its efforts to find talented and energetic young adults to remain in the food industry without the help of the retailers.
Finally, the HGMRA offers members opportunities to foster goodwill and fellowship by sponsoring a series of luncheons featuring speakers from area grocery stores that address current concerns about business activity in the region and trends in the industry.
