When: Thursday, May 24th, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM 

Where: Ramada Plaza Minneapolis, 1330 Industrial Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Do you have questions after attending our year long series on Supplier Management?  Too shy, didn’t want to raise questions about your company’s challenges, or missed a session?   Well, it’s not too late.

Please join us in our final installment, where you can ask our panel of experts your own questions on supplier management challenges or learn from the recommendations made by your peers. Your pain could be the same pain that our experts experienced during their professional careers or still see as consultants. Moreover, people in our audience can share the same challenges that you are dealing with today.

Please submit your questions ahead of time to nflorina@comcast.net.  We will have them read anonymously to our panel, and get the answers you need to help your company address the most challenging issue of the year.

We come together to celebrate our last event on this season, and our second year of existence.  Please join us for our year end FIESTA!! Take advantage of this great opportunity to network with your peers and members of the local FD&C group.

Topic: Supplier Management recap of our series and Q&A session: “What keeps you up at night?” 

Experts Panelists:

Bill Bennet – President, WorldView Food Products

Mr. Bennet has over 35 years experience in food and personal care products. Presently he is consulting on natural and organic products and developing healthy/medical foods. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University and extensive Quality and Management training and graduate work.   He has been Chairman of AACC, and a member of IFT, ASQ, Public Health Professionals, etc.

Mr. Bennet held different positions in his career prior to starting up his own Consulting firm. Here are some: VP of R&D and Quality for Schwan’s bakery division in Atlanta, Director of Quality for Pillsbury’s Refrigerated Foods, Green Giant Frozen Foods, Bakers Square (Poppin Fresh) restaurants, and Director of R&D, Quality and Manufacturing for Intelligent Nutrients (supplements, certified organic foods, and personal care line) – company own by Aveda’s founder. 

Mr. Bennet was also an Instructor for AIB International on Food Safety,and an NFPA auditor. He co-authored 3 books for ASQ and an article on ISO 9000 and HACCP for Quality Digest Magazine.
 
Mr. Hodgin – IntegriPharm Consultants
 
Mr. Hodgin has extensive experience in designing quality systems for pharmaceutical companies.  He has created and managed ISO-9000, ISO-14000, TQM, Quality Improvement, and FDA Good Manufacturing Practice systems for many companies for over 28 years.  He has held positions in industry which have included Chemistry Lab Manager, QC Manager, and QA Director for pharmaceutical companies, as well as Vice President of Quality Systems for an international micro-electronics company.

Mr. Hodgin is a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), and Certified Pharmaceutical GMP Professional (CPGP) through ASQ.  He is also a RABQSA certified Auditor with emphasis on ISO-13485 for Medical Device Manufacturers and other FDA regulated industries.   He has overseen Six-Sigma process improvement projects and coached Six-Sigma Blackbelt candidates.

He has worked with foreign and domestic companies to improve the quality of their products and processes.  In addition to a having a quality management background, Mr. Hodgin has experience with drug and device regulatory submissions.  His regulatory work focuses on Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls sections for New Drug Applications and Pre-Market Approval Applications for drug / device combination products. 

Mr. Hodgin holds a Master of Science Degree in Chemistry from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota and is currently Vice-chairman of the Region 12B, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Discussion group of ASQ in Minneapolis.

ASQ Members $25, Non-members $35   (.3 R.U.s Awarded)

To encourage interaction, seating is limited to the first 50 registrants, so plan for early sign up!

Registration link: http://a3.acteva.com/orderbooking/bookEvent/A319109

AGENDA
5:30 -6:00pm Registration/Network
6:00 -6:30pm Dinner/Buffet
6:30 – 8:20pm Open Discussions (Round table – Q&A)
8:20-8:30pm Surveys/Door Prizes
8:30pm Closing

Download Your Member Gift
This gift is available to you through May 31, 2012.

In the month of May, ASQ is springing beyond Kaoru Ishikawa’s seven basic quality tools. Enjoy part one of this series of webcasts that will introduce you to four new basic quality tools to help you better innovate, communicate, and plan!

Affinity Analysis
Matrix Data Analysis
Tree Diagram
Prioritization Matrix

This gift also revisits two popular Quality Progress articles to help brush up on basic quality tools. We hope that you enjoy our gesture of gratitude for continuing your journey with ASQ.

Thank you for your commitment to quality and for continuing to raise the voice of quality.

Click here to receive your gift today.

Minnesota Council for Quality’s Annual Best Practice Conference:
Celebrating 25 Years of Advancing Performance Excellence!

When:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 (pre-conference workshops June 4)

Register today!  Early Bird Registration ends May 11th

Mention MNASQ when registering to get the partner rate!

Where:

The Great Hall, 180 East 5th Street, Suite 160 St. Paul, MN 55101 (parking/directions)

Don’t miss this high impact, high energy, high value event!  Hear best practices in organizational innovation, and learn what drives and sustains performance excellence across all sectors — business, healthcare, education, and nonprofit/government.

20 leaders from high performing organizations are expected to share how they have improved leadership, planning, customer focus, measurement/knowledge management, workforce processes, operations, and results.  Four speakers are from recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, representing organizations that have demonstrated world class performance in their processes and outcomes.

Also, this event will celebrate the Council’s first 25 years, their expanded footprint into South/North Dakota, and their new brand!!

The main conference on June 5 will include four keynotes, 20 breakout sessions (50-minutes each), a late-afternoon reception, and an early evening celebration.  Leaders from the following organizations will share their insights on performance excellence: Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton SD; Byron Public Schools, Byron; Cardinal of Minnesota, Rochester; Designs for Learning, St. Paul; Freese & Nichols, Ft Worth; Henry Ford Health Care System, Detroit; LifeSource, St. Paul; Marshall Public Schools, Marshall; Memorial Blood Centers, St. Paul; Nestle Purina, St. Louis; Pewaukee School District, Milwaukee; Richland College, Dallas; Rochester Community & Technical College, Rochester; Target Corp., Minneapolis.

Check out the full agenda and register…

Mention MNASQ when you register to take advantage of the partner rate!

We will be kicking off the planning of our premiere annual training event soon so this is a great time to get involved.  No experience required! 

Innovation is the name of the game. 

According to a Fall 2011 survey of local executives about the key forces exerting pressure on the Future of Quality, innovation is one of their greatest challenges.  So we’ve decided the focus of the 2013 Professional Development Summit will be Innovation & Sustained Performance.  In addition, we will continue to deploy the new MNASQ vision by innovating the Professional Development Summit. 

We need about a dozen fresh faces to help with just about everything – project management, administration, arrangements, registration, volunteer coordination & training, exhibitor coordination, sponsor coordination, division liaison, program coordinator, speaker liaison, survey coordinator, partner coordination, and more.  The more people that are involved, the better the ideas and the less burn out of existing volunteers. 

One of the first challenges is to evaluate whether our current conference venue can support expanded attendance.  This committee will develop facility requirements, solicit bids and select the best venue for the Summit.

The Summit Planning Committee meets on the 2nd Thursday of every month, from 5:30pm until 7:30pm at the GreenMill restaurant in Shoreview.  You are welcome to join us or you may volunteer offline.  Contact Conferences Chair, Doug Stohr, or Conference Arrangements Chair, Rebecca Draxten.

In appreciation for the hard-work, dedication and commitment of our volunteers, the leadership team would like to invite you and your family to attend the Annual Volunteer Picnic.

Free food, music, fun activities for you and your family!

When:
July 15, 2012, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm (Food served @ 1:00 pm)

Where:  
Tartan Park, Pavilion #2
11455 20th St. North
Lake Elmo, MN 55042

Rain or shine!  The pavilion is covered. 

RSVP  by July 1st by sending an email to info@mnasq.org.  Be sure to let us know how many adults and how many children will be joining us.

Thinking about volunteering?  Join us!

They are online at http://mnasq.org/career-central/programs/

ASQ’s 66th Annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement will be concurrently held with the Institute for Continual Quality Improvement, Institute for Software Excellence, Quality Institute for Healthcare and Quality in Sustainability Conference. These five conferences feature more than 100 educational sessions for you to choose from.
Visit http://wcqi.asq.org for full session descriptions and up–to–date conference information.

Focus Areas Include:

• Changing Technology
• Managing Risk
• Globalization
• Best Practices in Supply Chain Management
• Basic Quality

LEARN MORE

SUPPLIER QUALIFICATION – CONTRACT MANUFACTURER

An Industry Roundtable Discussion

When:  Thursday, March 15th, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM

Where: 

Land O’Lakes
4001 Lexington Avenue North
Arden Hills, MN 55126

Supplier Management: Qualification, Certification, Score Cards, Adulterations, Risk Management. Does this sound familiar? Did you know that this is the hottest topic for FDA this year?

We invite you to participate in the second of three sessions that we have planned to have on Supplier Management this year. This topic is considered to be #1 challenge in every industry at current time around the world.

In addition, our host Land O’Lakes  agreed to give us a tour of their facility (test kitchens, labs, and pilot plant).

Title:  Contract Manufacturing 411
Speaker:   Dave Adams- Senior Operations Quality Manager- Contract Manufacturing, Corporate Quality Assurance- Land O’ Lakes, Inc

Dave has been with Land O’Lakes for 20 years of his 30 year career in the food industry with extensive experience in dairy manufacturing. Currently, he is the Group Leader for the QA Contract Manufacturing team across human and animal foods. His experience includes: laboratory management, several positions across plant quality and operations management, R&D, and several roles within the Corporate Quality Assurance environment. Dave holds a BS degree in Biology and Chemistry, and is a certified HACCP trainer. He is considered a subject matter expert in cheese manufacturing.

ASQ Members $25, Non-members $35   (.3 R.U.s Awarded)

To encourage interaction, seating is limited to the first 50 registrants, so plan for early sign up!

Registration link: http://a3.acteva.com/orderbooking/bookEvent/A316481

AGENDA
5:30 – 6:00pm Registration/Network
6:00 – 6:30pm Dinner/Buffet
6:30 – 7:15pm Presentation
7:15 – 7:30pm Break/Network
7:30 – 8:00pm Site Tour
8:00 – 8:25pm Q & A/Open Discussion
8:25 – 8:30pm Surveys/Door Prizes
8:30pm Closing

Simply use the registration link and select COMPLETE ORDER AND PAY LATER as your payment option.  You will then have the ability to select “pay by check” and complete your order.

This will help improve registration efficiency.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Where: 

Summit Brewery Company
910 Montreal Circle
St. Paul, MN 55102
651.265.7800

To Register:  http://a3.acteva.com/orderbooking/bookEvent/A316200

Want to pay by check or pay at the door?

Registration closes Friday, March 9th at noon!

**IMPORTANT**

Please register before deadline to avoid a late fee and guarantee a meal. Only personal checks or cash will be accepted at the time of registration.

Note: Due to the nature of this program, we will not be offering the No Meal Option.  Make sure you register early, capacity is limited to 80 registrants.

No sandals, please.
For safety and health reasons, open-toed shoes are not allowed on tour.

Cost

• $25 Members/ $35 Non-Members
• Late Registration/Walk-Ins: Add $5

Agenda

5:15 P.M.  Registration & Networking
5:55 P.M.  Welcome & Announcements
6:00 P.M.  Presentation by Paul Sadosky, QA/QC Manager
6:45 P.M.  1st Group Tour – Group 2 Dinner
7:30 P.M.  2nd Group Tour – Group 1 Dinner
8:15 P.M.  Closing Notes & Speakers Gifts

Summit Brewery Tour

Quench your thirst for knowledge by joining us for a tour of Summit Brewery.

The award-winning St. Paul brewery recently celebrated its 25^th Anniversary in 2011.

We will begin our tour by meeting in their Ratskeller, where like any good host, summit will be offering us refreshments. We will have a chance to taste some of the 7 varieties on tap, or a try a draft root beer.

Summit’s QA/QC Manager, Paul Sadosky, who has spent his entire career in the brewing industry, will start us off with an overview on some of the Quality regulations and requirements followed  by the industry.

The brewing industry is subject to extensive government regulations at both the federal and state levels, as well as to regulation by a variety of local governments. Some of the regulations imposed at the federal and state level involve production, distribution, labeling, advertising, trade and pricing practices, credit, container characteristics, and alcoholic content. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is responsible for administering and regulating the operations of breweries, as well as importers and wholesalers in the industry.

Have specific questions you’d like answered?  Send them in advance to Jan Schutz.

Our personal tour guide, Visitor Services Coordinator Betsy Faber, will be taking us in groups right through the heart of Summit’s working brewery. Beverages are not allowed while touring.

Meeting Location & Directions

Summit Brewery Company
910 Montreal Circle
St. Paul, MN 55102
651.265.7800

FROM THE SOUTH Take Hwy 35E north to the Hwy 5/West 7th St. exit, turn right (east), follow one block to Montreal Way (just past the Burger King), turn right into Crosby Lake Business Park, follow Montreal Way about 1/2 mile, then turn left into Montreal Circle, the brewery is directly in front of you.

FROM THE NORTH: Take Hwy 35E south past downtown St. Paul approximately 3 miles to the Hwy 5/West 7th Street exit, turn left (east), just over bridge is a Burger King, just past the BK turn right into Crosby Lake Business Park, follow Montreal Way about 1/2 mile, then turn left into Montreal Circle, the brewery is directly in front of you.

FROM THE EAST: Follow Hwy 94 west toward downtown St. Paul, then follow Hwy 35E south past downtown St. Paul approximately 3 miles to the Hwy 5/West 7th Street exit, turn left (east), just over bridge is a Burger King, just past the BK turn right into Crosby Lake Business Park, follow Montreal Way about 1/2 mile, then turn left into Montreal Circle, the brewery is directly in front of you.

FROM THE WEST (MINNEAPOLIS) Follow Hwy 94 east towards downtown St. Paul, just over the river take the Snelling Ave. exit, turn right and go south on Snelling approximately 3 miles to Montreal Ave., turn left, follow Montreal Ave. down hill about 1 mile, at the bottom of the hill is a major intersection with Hwy 5/West 7th Street, be in the center lane and proceed straight, cross over W 7th St., follow Montreal Ave. past a stop sign and cross bridge into Crosby Lake Business Park, up about 1/2 of a mile, turn right into Montreal Circle, the brewery is directly in front of you.

FROM THE WEST (BLOOMINGTON, SW SUBURBS) Follow Hwy 494 east past the Mall of America, then follow Hwy 5 towards downtown St.Paul (right two lanes), past MSP Airport, Hwy 5 will become West 7th Street, follow for approximately 2-3 miles to the intersection with Montreal Ave., turn right, go past stop sign and cross over bridge into Crosby Lake Business Park, up about 1/2 of a mile, turn right into Montreal Circle, brewery is directly in front of you.