QCD Charlotte and Phoenix Teams Celebrate 2023 "Best in Class" Awards

Golden State Foods (GSF) presented the company’s highest honors, including 2023 Best in Class Awards to QCD Charlotte and QCD Phoenix, during its Global Leadership Conference in San Diego on February 21, 2024. Pictured from left to right: Larkin Williams, Senior Director, Operations, QCD Western Region; Shane Blanchette, QCD Group Vice President, Operations; Matt Cheviron, QCD Phoenix General Manager; Scott VanLue, QCD Charlotte General Manager; Gregg Tarlton, Senior Director, Operations, QCD Eastern Region; and Ryan Hammer, GSF Corporate Senior Vice President and President, QCD.

February 2024

During the GSF (Golden State Foods) 2024 Global Leadership Conference this month, associates from across the GSF family of companies celebrated the company’s highest internal honors, including 2023 "Best in Class" Awards for QCD Charlotte and QCD Phoenix. Ryan Hammer, GSF Corporate Senior Vice President and QCD President, presented the awards to QCD Charlotte General Manager Scott VanLue and QCD Phoenix General Manager Matt Cheviron. 

“These outstanding and deserving facility teams truly shined in 2023 as Best in Class across our QCD network,” said Ryan. “We appreciate the dedication of the Charlotte and Phoenix teams in delivering the difference to our customers and maintaining the highest standards in safety, quality, and efficiencies, while effectively modeling our company Creed and Values.” 

A GSF tradition for 12 years, the Best in Class Awards honored the Phoenix team in the Diamond category for the third consecutive year, as the distribution center consistently delivered an excellent performance in safety, audit scores, financial results, supporting other QCD locations, associate survey results, succession planning, and GSF Foundation participation. QCD Phoenix also earned a 2023 Safety Excellence Award. 

The Platinum Best in Class category recognized the Charlotte facility team with its first-ever Best in Class Award for successful achievements in the areas of safety, associate survey scores, audit results, community involvement, supporting other distribution facilities with staffing, financial performance, and piloting QCD’s installation of backing/turning camera systems to reduce accidents. Additionally, QCD Charlotte received a 2023 Safety Excellence Award. 

In other operational award categories, QCD teams garnered Best Managed Fleet honors for QCD Fontana (Best Large Fleet) and QCD Kansas City (Best Small Fleet). Quality Focus Awards recognized QCD facility teams in Chicago West, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City. Additionally, QCD Orlando and Suffolk each earned Safety Excellence Awards. 

For GSF’s annual Associate Experience Survey Awards, QCD teams from Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis, and Miami each received accolades for their pride, teamwork, and focus in 2023. The GSF Foundation also presented awards to QCD Frisco for its Outstanding Volunteer Engagement and to QCD Suffolk for its Outstanding Community Partnership in 2023.