Recent News Archive
6/5/2015 - Supporting Active Military Families and Veterans
MDV had a strong showing last Saturday at the Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival, the area’s primary summer season event and the largest regional military celebration.

A team of 20 MDV volunteers and six of their family members arrived bright and early Saturday morning to set up. Working with the Honor and Remember team and with representatives from Mars Chocolate and Advantage Sales LLC, MDV volunteers handed out oranges, water, candy, and goody bags to 1,300 active military families and veterans, who were “very appreciative and humbled by our small gesture,” said Paul Wehner, Director of Marketing, NFC, Norfolk. “It is just a little thanks for their sacrifice and service.”

Goody bags were filled with 5-hour ENERGY® drinks, Unilever assorted products, Arm & Hammer toothpaste, Werther’s candy, and M&M’S® candies.

The Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival honors our armed forces personnel and their families and consists of three days of military expos and displays and of national touring artists concerts. MDV became involved with the festival several years ago through their contact with United Service Organizations (USO).

“We could not accomplish this without the volunteers from MDV and Advantage lending their time and families to support this great event!” Wehner said.

“This is our fourth year in a row supporting the Patriotic Festival,” said Edward L. Brunot, SpartanNash EVP, President – MDV. “We are grateful to our servicemen and women and our veterans, and to our MDV and customer partner volunteers for exhibiting our dedication to them.”
 
4/8/2014 - DeCA, MDV and P&G in Partnership with ProCamps
As part of the Defense Commissary Agency's (DeCA) Healthy Base Initiative, MDV and Procter and Gamble (P & G) will join DeCA and ProCamps in executing nine different camps in the continental US. They will tie in with the Month of the Military Child theme events and provide opportunities to interact with various professional sports figures such as Andre Roberts, Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, and Arian Foster as they give back to military families.

From www.procamps.com:
Since 1998, ProCamps has developed, marketed, and operated sports camps and related events for professional athletes in the National Basketball Association, National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Professional Golfer’s Association, and Women’s Professional Soccer.

About DeCA's Healthy Base Initiative:
The Healthy Base Initiative began in August 2013 as a demonstration project that examines select military installations' efforts to support improved nutritional choices, increased physical activity, obesity reduction, and decreased tobacco use. HBI is also a part of Operation Live Well, which aims to make healthy living the easy choice and the social norm across the Department of Defense.
 
2/12/2014 - SpartanNash Wins Independent Retailer of the Year
SpartanNash has won its first national award from Grocery Headquarters as the 2014 Independent Retailer of the Year. Grocery Headquarters is a nationally syndicated magazine that reports on a wide variety of topics relating to grocery market and distribution networks. Below is a small excerpt of the cover story article that appears in the February edition.
To millions of grocery shoppers throughout the Midwest, the name SpartanNash has little significance. However, for the grocery industry, the merger between Grand Rapids, MI-based Spartan Stores and Edina, MN-based Nash Finch Co. is very much the talk of the town.

Supermarket industry mergers are often fraught with turmoil. Uncertainty tends to be the norm with defection of executives, talent and unhappy customers to other chains and wholesalers commonplace. On the consumer level, favorite banners and brands often disappear creating a dissatisfaction that can topple the applecart. One only has to look at Safeway’s acquisition of Dominick’s or A&P’s takeover of Pathmark to see the downsides a merger can bring.

Yet the Spartan Stores/Nash Finch marriage—consummated in November—is shaping up to be a happy one, fitting together on so many levels. Prior to their engagement, both companies operated with Midwestern sensibilities­­—strong balance sheets, little debt, cautious growth and deep-rooted community involvement—that have endeared them to retail customers, suppliers and consumers. The companies fared well on paper, as well, with annual sales of $2.6 billion for Spartan Stores in 2013 and $4.8 billion for Nash Finch in 2012.

Officials at SpartanNash, now headquartered in the Grand Rapids, Michigan. suburb of Byron Township, stress that their new company will stick to those principles. There is little geographic overlap, so massive store closings should not be an issue. Favorite store banners and house brands are being maintained. And management promises that the focus will be on servicing and building up the independent grocer with a unique portfolio that is almost equally divided between legacy wholesale, corporate-owned stores and supplying military commissaries.

To read the full article, please visit the Grocery Headquarters web site.
 
1/30/2014 - VA Boston Healthcare System
MDV has a reputation for supporting our nation's soldiers, veterans and their families. It is one of our core values as a company. But our commitment to service men and women (past, present and future) do not stop at the doors to our offices and distribution centers. All of our associates take pride in embracing our missions, not only at work but in our own lives.

Recently, MDV's David Solomon took on a significant role to support an event that was being put on for the benefit of veterans in the Boston, MA area. Below is an excerpt from the Thank You letter he received:
On behalf of the VA Boston Healthcare System System patients and staff, we would like to extend our appreciation to you for assuming responsibilities in the role of Coordinator of Donations for our 2014 New England Winter Sports Clinic. Your thoughtfulness reflects the concern that you feel for our Veterans and for the service they provided to all of us while in service to our country.

Without your support and the support of the donors you organized, we would be unable to provide for the types of activities and adaptive sports programs essential to the overall emotional and physical well-being of our veterans.

Mr. Solomon is not alone in donating his time and effort to support the VA Boston Healthcare System event. Many MDV associates and MDV's business partners contributed to the success of the endeavor.

For more information, please contact David Solomon.
 
1/13/2014 - Spartan Stores and Nash Finch Merge
Spartan Stores, Inc. and Nash Finch Company announced the completion of their merger on 19 November 2013 and will use corporate name SpartanNash. The combined company will continue to conduct business as Spartan Stores, Nash Finch and MDV in their respective markets.

“This merger brings together two highly complementary organizations to form a leader in the grocery wholesale, retail and military commissary and exchange channels,” said Dennis Eidson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Stores. “We would like to thank all of our stakeholders, including our shareholders, associates, customers and suppliers, for their support in completing this significant achievement. We look forward to leveraging our new platform with its broader customer base and geographic reach to create significant long-term value for our shareholders.”

SpartanNash’s Board of Directors includes seven directors from Spartan Stores’ previous board and four directors from Nash Finch’s previous board. In addition to Craig Sturken, who will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Eidson, President and Chief Executive Officer, the other members of the Board of Directors include: M. Shan Atkins, Frank M. Gambino, Yvonne R. Jackson, Elizabeth A. Nickels and Timothy J. O’Donovan, former members of the board of directors of Spartan Stores and William R. Voss, Mickey P. Foret, Douglas A. Hacker and Hawthorne L. Proctor, former members of the board of directors of Nash Finch.


 
10/11/2013 - Supporting Army Fisher House
MDV recently received a letter of gratitude from the Fort Bragg Fisher House. Below is an excerpt of that letter:
On behalf of the Fort Bragg Fisher House I would like to thank you for your generous gift of 15 commissary gift cards...Your commitment to helping our soldiers and their families in our community is sincerely appreciated.

Each year Fort Bragg Fisher House is able to continue providing a "home away from home" for our soldiers and their families as hey heal from the scars of war and unexpected illnesses. By providing a place where there is no worry as to "how much is it going to cost" and "how long can we stay", we have seen many lives changed for the better.
...
Thanks again for your generous support of our efforts to provide a "home away from home".

Best Wishes,
Lorie Sutherland
Manager
Fort Bragg Fisher House
 
10/10/2013 - Helping Out the USO in Germany
The following is an excerpt of a thank you letter MDV received from the USO regarding a recent donation.
On behalf of the USO Kaiserslautern, I would like to extend our appreciation of your generous in-kind donation of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls...Your donation will be used to directly assist U.S. service members and their families utilizing our USO Kaiserslautern centers located at the Warrior Center at Landstuhl, the CASF at Ramstein, the Deployment Processing Center (DPC) at ROB, the Joint Mobility Processing Center (JMPC) at Ramstein as well as the Ramstein Passenger Terminal. As you may know, several of our USO centers often accommodate service members and their families in this transition from a couple of hours up to several days. Donations like yours allow the USO to take proper care of America's sons and daughters as they transition through Germany and abroad.

Thank you for thinking of the USO Kaiserslautern. We truly appreciate your kindness and generosity.

Sincerely,
Konrad E. Braun
Area Director
USO Kaiserslautern
 
10/6/2013 - Commissaries Re-Open - From Ed Brunot
By now I am hopeful that everyone is informed of the re-opening of the CONUS commissaries. We have been
working diligently on all of the necessary steps to bring the supply-chain back up in an orderly fashion.

We are now in the process of working with our partners at DeCA to determine the best course of action to
handle the order process to begin shipments with individual commissaries. We will resume normal operations
tomorrow morning and will start processing the orders that we receive this evening for each of the stores. Many
stores will receive deliveries tomorrow afternoon and evening and some will receive shipments starting
Tuesday. Our Area Managers are working with each commissary to ensure the communication channels are
open.

As the system comes back up, we know that there will be opportunities that will arise and we will do our best to
ensure that communication takes place to minimize disruption. Thank you for your willingness to work with us
last week minimizing the potential risk associated with this shutdown. We can now all look forward to
providing the goods and services that our armed service heroes and their families deserve.

Sincerely,
Edward L. Brunot
President - MDV
 
10/4/2013 - A Letter from Ed Brunot
Dear Valued Customer,

I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about the current situation we find ourselves in regarding the government
shutdown and its impact on our collective business. As you know, all CONUS commissaries were closed
starting today and as a result we are making no deliveries in our geographic areas with the exception of all
Export (OCONUS) operations serviced by Norfolk.

We are continuing to service our exchange business, although in many cases we will need to alter delivery
schedules, and we are working with our partners regarding these changes.

For all products currently in our distribution centers that are code date sensitive or Halloween-seasonal in nature
we have listed below various options for disposition. We will be reaching out to each customer on a case by
case basis to develop action plans.

1. Donation to various humanitarian agencies
2. Salvage
3. Return to Manufacturer
4. Send through another distribution/national account channel
5. Explore item match/parameters to Nash Finch wholesale houses
6. Freeze certain chilled items to sell through alternate channels

Due to the lack of outbound volume, we are at 100% capacity in our chill space and will not be able to receive
any additional inbound chilled loads. The only exception to this will be product necessary to support the
exchange/export activity.

We stand ready to lead through these difficult times and to help facilitate creative solutions to one of the most
challenging situations the military resale system has faced. Please feel free to contact me or any MDV team
member if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Edward L. Brunot
President - MDV
 
8/22/2013 - Operation Home Front Backpack Brigade
MDV Associates turned out to help stuff and hand out over 2,500 back packs as part of Operation Home Front's efforts to provide necessary school supplies to needy military member's families.
 
8/5/2013 - Operation Home Front
Recently, MDV supported Operation Home Front which provides a worth serviceman/woman with a mortgage free home for them and their family. MDV contributed $250 worth of DeCA gift cards to the family.
 
6/24/2013 - Wounded Warrior & Memorial Day
This year, MDV was able to contribute to the Wounded Warrior efforts of the Richmond Sail and Power Squadron. The Richmond Sail and Power Squadron is a unit of the United States Power Squadrons - Sail and Power Boating (USPS). Below is an excerpt of a thank you letter from Lt/C Fred Eddowes, Secretary.
...we would like to thank you for your generous gift of food items in support of our Wounded Warrior efforts this year. As last year, we are joining other USPS units in trying to make the joys of boating available to our recovering Warriors...

For more information on the details of this event, please contact Paul Wehner, MDV's Director of Marketing.
 
3/29/2013 - The Hero Box
On March 6,2013, MDV joined the National ALA and our Industry Partners to support the Hero Box. The Hero Box is a non-profit organization that supports deployed service members. Their mission is to provide the physical items and moral support to our troops. Over 200 boxes were filled in Dallas, TX, and sent to our nation’s finest!
 
1/30/2013 - MDV Supports the Army Ten-Miler
Among the many fund-raising initiatives that MDV supported in 2012 was the Army Ten-Miler. This is a distance run/walk race that civilians and service men and women of all ages participate in. MDV was there to support the Defense Commissary Agency's (DeCA) presence at the race.

MDV recently received a thank you letter from the Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Policy for DeCA. The following is an excerpt from that letter.

...I would like you for your overwhelming assitance that was provided during the Army Ten-Miler. The time you volunteered at DeCA's booth and the in the Hooah Tent Zone enabled us to educate and inform thousands of active duty and dependent personnel about their commissary benefit.

Because of your enthusiasm and customer service skills we were able to effectively spread the word about the Commissary Rewards Card, the commissary savings and at the same time provide nutritional samples to all those who visited the tent.

Thank you sou much for volunteering, your in-kind contributions, and transportation services. We could not have done it without you.
 
1/17/2013 - MDV Supports Wounded Warrior Project
Over the holiday season, MDV Nash Finch was able to generously provide a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). Below is an excerpt from the thank you letter that MDV received in response to the donation:
Thank you so much for your generous gift of $2,000.00 on 12/28/2012 to Wounded Warrior Project. I cannot thank you enough for your support of the thousands of truly deserving servicemen and women who have been wounded in our current military conflicts.

Our work begins at the bedsides of injured warriors as they undergo rehabilitation and return to civilian life, but it certainly doesn't stop there. As a result of their injuries, these brave heroes will face greater challenges today finding assistance and jobs that will enable them to provide for their families. Their battle against the long-term effects of combat will continue throughout their lives
...
Wounded Warrior Project is dedicated to assisting this new generation of injured heroes. These men and women who have served with honor deserve our respect and support. Again, I cannot thank you enough for your partnership with WWP.

Sincerely,
Steven Nardizzi
Executive Director
Wounded Warrior Project
 
12/12/2012 - MDV Supports Special Olympics
Recently, MDV Nash Finch support the Dick Taylor Memorial Golf tournament. This event benefits the Special Olympics and was able to raise $10,500 in support of athletes around the state of Virginia. On December 7, 2012, MDV received a thank you letter from Tournament Director, Ken Grimes:
Your willingness to support Special Olympics will also allow the organization to introduce more athletes to different events and help other sponsors think differently about the abilities as well as all of those we encounter in life. In doing so it helps us all be more inclusive, more accepting and provide a more understanding environment where we are all seen first for who we are and what we can contribute, instead of being identified by any disability that we may have.

Your partnership is very important to us and is deeply appreciated by all (of) those athletes who directly benefit from your contributions...I would like to thank you for your endorsement and support of Special Olympics of Virginia.

For more information, please contact Paul Wehner, the public relations director for MDV Nash Finch.
 
8/23/2012 - Diaper Give Away
On August 3, 2012, MDV supported the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Services organization in handing out over 800 boxes of diapers to deserving servicemen and women and their families.
 
7/19/2012 - FT. Hood Single Soldier Event
BOSS Program Coordinator, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Dixon, MWR BOSS Advisor, Luis Rios and Ft. Hood Commissary Grocery Manager, Sheila Williams, accepted donated DeCA gift cards, totaling $500, from MDV Area Manager, Robert Smith. The gift cards were awarded during the 2012 Single Soldiers’ Festival, held Friday, June 22, at Ft. Hood’s Army Recreation Center on Belton Lake, where single soldiers enjoyed a day of sports competitions, interactive games and free live entertainment by Down Siid.

Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) is a service wide initiative that assists the single Soldier by identifying well-being issues and concerns; by encouraging, assisting in identifying, and planning for recreational and leisure activities; and by providing the opportunity to participate in and contribute to their respective communities.

The picture on the main page shows (from left to right) Grocery Manager Sheila Williams (Ft Hood 2 Warrior Way Commissary), MWR BOSS Advisor Luis Rios, MDV Area Manager Robert Smith and U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Dixon.


 
6/8/2012 - MDV at USOHRCV Air Show
The first weekend in June saw an air show over the beaches of Virginia Beach. This event was hosted by the USO of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia (USOHRCV). MDV showed up and supported USOHRCV and its efforts to put on a great event. We recently received correspondance (via email) of the President and CEO of USOHRCV, Bruce LaLonde.
great event--great weather--great support from MDV-Nash Finch--(thanks) for supporting us in accomplishing our mission of enhancing the quality of life of US Armed Services personnel and their families.
 
6/4/2012 - USO Patriotic Festival 2012
On 2 June 2012, MDV participated in the USO Patriotic Festival. During the event we handed out:
1,100 bags filled with goodies
1,000 pamphlets, flyers and coupons
1,000 hats
1,000 Save Our Benefit wrist bands
A whole bunker of ice cream and popsicles
A pallet of soda/water/energy drinks
20 crates of fresh oranges

It was an amazing event and a job well done by all.
 
5/31/2012 - MDV Dan Daniel 2012
MDV would like to thank all of our Military Partners for an amazing golf outing.

This year’s course champions were Charlie Dowlen, JD Fenessy, Norm Apt and Cass Awalt shooting a 61 at the Cavalier, and the team of Ronald Maxey, Al Oliver, Rodney Russell and Tom Speelman shooting a 58 at Princess Anne.

We are also extremely proud of your generous sponsors and contributions helping us raise $15,187 to support Military causes!!
 
5/18/2012 - Northeast Facility, Landover, MD
MDV Nash Finch has reached an agreement on a new distribution center in Landover, Maryland. This facility generates new possibilities for our national distribution network and is the result of an exhaustive search for the optimal facility to service multiple markets from this prime location.

This expansive facility will soon service all products currently shipped from our nearby Jessup, Maryland facility. We are pleased to be able to maintain our current experienced workforce which will provide a great benefit when opening this new facility. The Jessup inventory will also be transferred to this new Landover facility for a June 11, 2012 start-up.

A great deal of planning has been invested in this transition. We have benefited from the experience of multiple distribution center start-ups over the last few years. We plan on generating PO’s into this new Landover, MD facility beginning May 14, 2012, at which time we will cease receiving in Jessup.

MDV Landover, MD
6304 Sheriff Road
Landover, Maryland 20785
Phone Number: 410-799-0366
 
3/28/2012 - MDV Dan Daniel Memorial Golf Tournament

The MDV Dan Daniel Memorial Golf Tournament dates have been recently announced. If you wish to participate in this event, please contact Paul Wehner for more information.

 
2/27/2012 - Cherry Point Commisary Wacky Wednesday

On 31 January 2012, MDV supported MCAS Cherry Point Commisary's Wacky Wednesday sales event. This is the second year that the event has been held, and this year proved even more successful than last year.

MDV Associates from many divisions, turned out to assist the commisary staff in hosting the event. With MDV's help, MCAS Cherry Point Commisary was able to turn the event into one of its most successful sales day ever; with thousands of dollars worth of savings and prizes being distributed to all who attended.

For more information about this event, please contact Jon Kitts or Ronette Malone.

 
1/23/2012 - HRALA/MDVNF Christmas Assistance 2011
The final tally reports have come in for MDV's annual HRALA holiday gift-giving drive for DeCA Langley Zone 28. We were able to provide approximately $10,000 worth of donations and 25 bicycles. Many thanks goes out to Paul Wehner and his "Mystery Shoppers."
 
1/6/2012 - Union Mission Appreciation

Recently, MDV received a thank you letter from Linda Bashford Vaughan, the Executive Director of The Union Mission Ministries. She thanks MDV for the donation The Union Mission Ministries received from us during the recent holiday season. An excerpt of the thank you letter is included below:

Thank you for your very generous gift of 50-60 hams for our annual Christmas Basket Campaign. Your kindness helped us provide a little you in the lives of hundreds of homeless and hurting men, women and children this past Christmas.

With your support and the support of friends like you, we provided a Holiday dinner with all the fixings for almost 250 homeless men, women and children in our shelters, Christmas baskets to over 1,200 needy families in our community, and toys to 1,309 children, who without our help would not have received anything for Christmas.

Thank you again for your kindness and may God bless you and your families in the coming year.

 
11/14/2011 - MDV Supports USCG members in Iraq
On October 28, 2011, MDV stepped up to support the service men and women of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) that are still serving in Iraq.

The military exchanges in that area of the world have been closed due to the ongoing withdrawal of forces. However, members of the USCG still needed personal supplies that could not be obtained from shipboard stocks.

A request was made of MDV to somehow help in supporting those still serving. In response, MDV's generous associates and many industry partners donated a large amount of toiletries and other supplies. The products were picked up by the USCG and were shipped overseas.

This was a perfect of example of our motto in action: "Supporting our armed service heroes and their families whether at home or abroad!"
 
11/11/2011 - Veteran's Day
MDV salutes the men and women who have served, and those who continue to serve, our country in the armed services.

We in the MDV family appreciate all that you do. Thank you!
 
9/28/2011 - Maneuver Center for Excellence Dedication
On Friday 23 September, MDV Associates attended the dedication ceremony of the new Maneuver Center for Excellence at Ft. Benning, GA. The highlight of the ceremony was the biography of the two soldiers who had the building named in their memory. Both of these brave men lost their lives protecting our freedom, but most impressive was how they reacted during the very last moments of their lives – protecting the men they served with.

Through the hard work and dedication of many MDV associates, MDV was able to field an impressive tent that served hundreds of service men and women and their families. Goodie bags and T-shirts were handed out to those who waited patiently in line under the hot sun. In all over 750 bags of goodies and 1,000 T-shirts were handed out. At one point there was a line that was close to 50 yards long filled with soldiers and families.

Many thanks go out to our associates and our vendor support for making this event such a hit, especially Paul Wehner, Director of Marketing. Mr. Wehner worked diligently for many weeks to make this event the success that it was.

MDV will continue to proudly serve our troops at home and abroad.
 
8/30/2011 - Hurricane Irene Aftermath
The Norfolk Distribution Center and the Jessup Distribution Center are operational after enduring the affects of Hurricane Irene.  Hurricane Irene was a category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it came ashore near the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Its winds and heavy rains left many in the affected areas without power and dealing with high waters.