News Releases & Statements

American Beverage Association Annouces Election of Five New Members to Its Board of Directors

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
May 1, 2008        

Contacts:  
Craig Stevens 
(202) 463-6771
         
Tracey Halliday
(202) 463-6718

AMERICAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES ELECTION OF FIVE NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

WASHINGTON — The American Beverage Association (ABA) announced today the election of five new members to its board of directors.  The new members are Rodger L. Collins, president, bottling group sales, Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages; Hugh F. Johnston, president, Pepsi-Cola North America; Robert M. Levi, group vice president and president, beverages sector for Kraft Foods; Lawrence J. Lordi, president, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England; and Claude B. Nielsen, chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc.

“I am pleased to welcome these new members to the ABA family and look forward to working with them on the wide-variety of challenging and exciting issues currently facing our industry,” said Jack Pelo, chair of the board of directors and president and chief executive officer of Swire Coca-Cola USA.  “Our industry is leading the way on a variety of fronts, including school wellness and environmental stewardship, and with the addition of these new members we will further strengthen our organization’s outreach.” 

Members of ABA’s board of directors serve a four-year term and participate in semi-annual meetings that help shape association policy and initiatives.  With the election of these five new members, there are now 24 members on ABA’s board.

Susan K. Neely, ABA president and chief executive officer, said, “The Association is committed to furthering our industry’s education and advocacy efforts on issues critical to our communities and country.  We are happy to welcome our new members to serve alongside us as we shape the environment in which we work and live.”

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The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.  For more information on ABA, please visit the association’s Web site at www.ameribev.org or call the ABA media relations team at (202) 463-6770.

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