SQF Excellence Awards 2022

SQFI announced Joe Wieland, lead auditor for EAGLE Certification Group, and Karen Vanegas, coordinator of quality systems at The Hersey Company, as recipients of the 2022 SQF Excellence Awards.

Wieland was recognized with the Excellence in SQF Auditing Award while Vanegas received the Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership Award. These two represent the pinnacle of food safety professionals and continue to inspire and motivate the next generation of food safety leaders.

Thank you for your outstanding performance and contributions to furthering the mission of the SQF Program and promoting food safety.

Presented by

2022 SQF Excellence Award Winners

Excellence in SQF Auditing Winner: Joe Wieland
Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership Winner: Karen Vanegas

2022 Excellence in SQF Auditing Finalists

From left to right: Angela Tellez-Lance, AIB International | Joe Wieland, EAGLE Certification Group | Jose Contreras, Safe Food Certifications

Angela Tellez-Lance is a lead auditor for AIB International who has demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication in her auditing work. In addition to her role at AIB, Angela is an active participant in the auditing community. For the past four years, Angela has helped build and teach the next generation of auditors by working with students at the Innovation Center in Niagara College and influencing their decision to pursue an auditing career. Angela participates in peer-reviewing articles for Pathogens journal. She also completed the Better Process Control School Course at the University of Tennessee in 2021 to continuously improve her knowledge.

Joe Wieland is a lead auditor for EAGLE Certification Group who has a strong knowledge and passion for food safety. Joe is an active round table participant in food safety training events, including the annual SQF Unites Conference and EAGLE’s Annual Boot Camp training. Joe has taken a lead role executing witness audits for EAGLE’s new auditors’ development. He provides them with his experiences, listens to their concerns, and shares with them the intent of the SQF audit deliverables. His leadership and knowledge are invaluable in molding future food safety auditors.

Jose Contreras is a food safety auditor for Safe Food Certifications and has been praised by his colleagues for his leadership ability. Jose has demonstrated exceptional mentorship skills and has utilized these skills to develop new auditors throughout their SQF auditing journey, as well as ensuring continuous improvement for Safe Food Certifications. Jose is known for taking new auditors under his wing, and for always being available for one-on-one training throughout the career of new auditors. Jose pursues opportunities for continuing education through attending SQF courses and ensures that all auditors know about available professional development tools.

2022 Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership Finalists

From left to right: David Franks, ONE Brands | Emma Sigmund, Rise Baking Company | Karen Vanegas, The Hershey Company

David Franks is a quality and regulatory analyst who is actively involved in shaping and strengthening the food safety programs, mindsets, and culture for ONE Brands. David was nominated for and received a Silver Smiles award for his leadership in getting his Charlotte warehouse SQF certified with a 100% score. David brings a “can do” collaborative attitude to his work and has been instrumental in his near perfect SQF and overall food safety performance scores for his plant. He is a customer and consumer advocate, and continually brings those valuable insights to ONE business teams.

Emma Sigmund is a corporate quality assurance systems manager who oversees the SQF systems at all Rise Baking Company facilities, totaling twelve sites. Emma continues to search for opportunities to be challenged and develop professionally in and out of the workplace. Emma is a member of a team of women working in the food industry known as Females in Food. She has also achieved certification in Advanced SQF, HACCP, PCQI, Internal Food Safety Auditing, and Supplier Auditing. She will also be achieving her Six Sigma Green Belt training within the calendar year.

Karen Vanegas is a coordinator of quality systems for The Hershey Company and has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the SQF program by leading Hershey’s Monterrey plant team annually in SQF audit certification. Karen’s leadership is displayed across all levels of her organization as she fosters a food safety culture to positively impact a facility with almost 2,000 employees. Through her guidance, the Monterrey plant has improved each year, achieving a perfect SQF score in the last two years. Karen is actively involved in shaping and strengthening the food safety programs, mindsets, and culture for The Hershey Company.

Excellence in SQF Auditing

Awarded to a credentialed SQF auditor who demonstrates exceptional performance and dedication to the SQF Program through high quality audits, professional development activities, leadership and mentorship skills and promotion of food safety culture.

Entries are scored based on the individuals demonstrated ability to:

Achieve excellence in auditing and professionalism.
Support and encourage the next generation of food safety auditors through mentorship and leadership activities (e.g. direct shadow audits, promote food safety culture, etc.)
Seek continuous improvement by pursuing professional development opportunities (e.g. courses, conferences, speaking engagements, etc.)

Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership

Awarded to an SQF practitioner within an SQF Certified Site/Company who demonstrates leadership and promotion of food safety at their current site.

Entries are scored based on the individuals demonstrated ability to:

Lead, mentor, inspire and motivate the next generation of food safety leaders.
Communicate and promote food safety culture.
Seek continuous improvement by pursuing professional development opportunities (e.g. courses, conferences, etc.)

How to Nominate

Judging Criteria & Requirements

All entries will be reviewed, judged, and scored by an outside panel of SQF stakeholders and by SQFI staff. Three finalists will be selected from each category and winners will be announced during SQF Unites.

All submissions must include:

Completion of an online questionnaire
One (1) letter of endorsement which must include:
- Identification of the applicant and their position
- Identification of the endorser and their relationship to the applicant
- A description of the applicant’s qualifications, achievements, and previous awards
- Signature and contact information of the endorser
Completion of the Endorsement Form, with one (1) signature:
- If applying for the Excellence in SQF Auditing award, the required signature MUST be from an individual at an SQF-licensed certification body (e.g., a program manager, technical manager, technical reviewer, certification manager, etc.)
- If applying for the Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership award, the required signature MUST be from a senior site manager or other industry colleague.

Nomination Deadlines

- The names of nominees must be entered into the submission portal no later than June 27th, 2022 at 11:59PM EST
  Supporting documents and materials for each nomination must be submitted no later than July 8th, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST
- Incomplete submissions (i.e., without supporting documentation) will not be considered.

Prizes & Awards

One (1) Winner in each category will receive:

A crystal award.
A $250 gift certificate.
One (1) complimentary registration for the next SQF Unites.

Runners Up in each category will each receive:

A $100 gift certificate.

All finalists receive a discount on ticket prices and will be promoted on social media and in a press release.

Rules & Eligibility

All nominators and nominees must be affiliated with the SQF Program. Examples of appropriate affiliations include, but are not limited to, registered auditors, consultants or trainers, licensed certification bodies, registered and certified suppliers, licensed training centers, etc.
Nominations and supporting materials must be submitted via the online portal by the advertised due date.
Nominators must obtain permission from the nominee prior to submitting a nomination.
Self-nominations will be accepted.
Previous nominees and finalists are encouraged to apply, but previous award winners are not eligible.
SQFI/FMI reserves the right to investigate the good standing and character of each nominee.

Finalists

Three finalists in each of the two categories will be announced no later than October 1, 2022 and if available, will participate in the live SQF Unites Award ceremony in Orlando on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

2022 SQF Excellence Award Winners Excellence in SQF Auditing Winner: Joe Wieland Excellence in SQF Practitioner Leadership Winner: Karen Vanegas