Day Four - California Club

Friday, January 25, 2008

Today was pretty quiet. I think most people spent the day around Oakwood or with their families. I went over a few assignments, caught up on some emails and did a few household chores.

This evening we had dinner at the California Club, a very exclusive, members only club that's been a fixture in Los Angeles since 1887. The evening was hosted by executives from Unified Grocers, Bristol Farms, and Smart & Final - so special thanks to all of them.

The club itself was amazing. Moved to it's current location in 1930 it was decorated by one of the leading New York designers of the times. It looks and feels like something out of the movies with 25 foot ceilings and rooms filled with dark wood panelling and antiques.

Above, Michelle from Dole sits in an antique chair in one of the hallways of the club. Notice the high ceilings, spaciousness and period decor.

I think everyone felt a little nervous and out of place as we arrived for the reception; we had to remind ourselves that we didn't need to whisper. As the waiters brought drinks and h'orderves we all began to relax and enjoy the evening, recognizing that we were unlikely to have the opportunity to attend an event here again soon, if ever.

Above, cocktail reception before dinner. Left to right: Michelle from Dole, John from Safeway, Myself, Maeliene Mira the FIM program Assistant Director/Den Mother, and Lloyd from Safeway.

Dinner in the Fireside Room followed featuring filet mignon, stuffed tomatoes, roasted potatoes and green beans. Dessert was chocolate cheesecake with berries and creme anglais. Our director, Tom Arnold, then introduced our hosts and explained that the reason for the dinner was to give all of us a chance to spend more time together in a social setting, get comfortable with each other and form stronger bonds. One of the biggest opportunities of the program is for us to learn from our peers and understand what they do, how they do it, and incorporate their perspective of the industry into our own. Our hosts, most of whom are graduates of the Food Industry Management program, then took just a few minutes to echo Tom sentiments and congratulate us on being recognized within our companies as having "high potential."

Above, Michelle from Dole (she seems to be in every picture), Christel from Safeway (she took most of the pictures) and Brooke from Safeway dining in the Fireside Room.

Above, Dawn from Safeway and Stephanie from Associated Foods were both sitting at my table. There are five people from Safeway in our FIM class. Stephanie is the youngest of us at 24. She works at her parents' independent grocery store in Elko, Nevada and did all the legwork herself to get into the program and convince her grocery cooperative to sponsor her in conjunction with WAFC.

After dinner we mingled a bit more and then took the opportunity to see some more of the club. Up on the third floor we found the terrace with a beautiful view of the city. Glass skyscrapers stood illuminated next to older buildings of architectural significance as a steady stream of tiny green and red lights marched across the night sky toward LAX. All in all a truly memorable evening.

Below, more pictures of my FIM classmates:

From left: Sue from Haggen, Tom from Food 4 Less, Juliana from Ralphs, and Andrea from Dreyer's with her husband.

Tracy from Albertson's with his wife. Tracy was an Army Ranger and received his Bachelor's Degree from USC in the '80's before entering the grocery industry.

Gary from Food 4 Less with his wife.

Tony from Bristol Farms with his wife.




Miguel from Costco with his wife Alberta. Miguel and Alberta are two of the nicest people I've ever met and that's really saying something.


Rebecca from Ralphs with her husband.


Jimmy from Costco with his wife.


Kim from Smart and Final with her husband.