Behind the Scenes

John Aristizabal is a Rock Star – True JOH'er!

April: NEW Event

John Saidnawey sat on the executive panel discussion at the April 10, 2013 Greater Philadelphia Area Spring Networking Event. The panel was moderated by Margarita Rossi, Senior Sales & Shopper Marketing Executive of Johnson & Johnson.

Congratulations Matt and Melanie!

Matt O'Hare and Melanie Donnelly (Billerica) were married in a beautiful ceremony in Healdsburg, California on March 16th, much to the delight of his parents Chip & Bobbie!

JOH Hosts Reception for Boston International Seafood Show

JOH hosted a reception for retailers and clients at the Westin while all were in town for the Boston International Seafood Show.

Pictured (left to right): JOH'ers Chip O'Hare, Matt O'Hare. Linda Shaw, Allan Perkins and Chris Darmody.		Pictured (left to right): Chip O'Hare, Bob Sewall of Blount Seafood and Chris Darmody.		Pictured (left to right): Bill Guthier, NAFCO; Jim Wallace, Cathy Hennessey and Robin Fiske, C&S Wholesale Grocers; and Stanley Pearlman, NAFCO.

December: JOH'ers Hit the Celtics Game!

November 2, 2012: New England Network of Executive Women Event:

Below Left: Christine Colwell of AGAR (left) and Bobbie O'Hare of JOH (right) greeted guest speakers Michele M. Hanson of ExecuInsight LLC and Steve Pemberton, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Walgreens Co.

Below Right: Pictured (left to right): Bobbie O'Hare with Alexandra Fenelon of Nestle' USA, Trish Happel of The Griffin Report and John Saidnawey of JOH

Going Above and Beyond: Angel Gonzalez, Mid-Atlantic Merchandiser

A customer shopping in a local store apparently suffered a bad fall. Angel identified himself as an EMT and stayed with the customer until the ambulance arrived. Angel certainly did not need to identify himself or assist with the injured customer, but his actions truly helped to stabilize a situation which could have been much worse.

Angel is truly a remarkable individual and we are fortunate to have him associated with JOH.

2012 Bozzuto Golf Outing

Jayne Bozzuto of Bozzuto's Inc. and John Saidnawey enjoying their time at the Adam Bozzuto Memorial Charity Golf Tournament.

JOH Hits the Lowell Spinners Game

For a second year in a row, 100 JOH Associates and family members hit the Lowell Spinners game. This special family night is filled with a Gator Pit Meal, 7th inning stretch dance party on the field and of course a fun Spinners game! Check out the pictures below along with a video of John Saidnawey, JOH President & COO, throwing out the first pitch.

Riding to Give More – Two Years Strong

Over the past two years John Saidnawey and the "Rolling Bloomies" have raised over $50,000 participating in the Best Buddies Challenge and Pan Mass Challenge. These funds directly benefit cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.

JOH Good Samaritan Carol Young
Sr. Customer Representative, Produce - Billerica Office

After hearing about a Billerica, Massachusetts family whose home was destroyed by a flood two years ago, Carol and her husband Mark, also Billerica residents, spearheaded an effort to help rebuild a house for them. Mark led the way through the planning, permitting, designing and funding process that took almost a year. He called on his contracting friends to lend their skills (foundation, framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, drywalling); he arranged to buy building materials at cost. Carol's sister made drapes, her brother laid carpet.

This endeavor took the better part of 1-1/2 years. Carol spent all of her time off working on this project. End result - a mother, father and their four children now have a beautiful house they can call home.

Carol and Mark are pictured below, in front of the finished home.

Congratulations Chip O'Hare on MFA's 2012 Person of the Year Award!

This past weekend, the Massachusetts Food Association honored JOH's Chairman and CEO Harry "Chip" O'Hare as its 2012 Person of the Year with the presentation of the Milton W. Segel Distinguished Service Award. Chip's selection was based on his decades of service to the MFA and the CPG Industry. We are very proud!

Watch the "Thank You" video below or click here to view the Congratulatory Speeches.

JOH 2011 Summit Meeting—Coming together as ONE!

We were honored to have 175 Associates all together for a full day event complete with fun, entertaining and educational presentations. It was an incredible meeting bringing a great company together! Take a look at some photos from the day!

John Saidnawey, COO and President

John has been with JOH for 29+ years and loves coming to work every day with all the great associates that help make JOH the world's best broker! When John is not at JOH, you will find him with the four loves of his life: His wife of 21 years Pam, sons JP (19 years old, Elon undergraduate) and Kyle (17, high school student) and of course, Maggie their 11 year old yellow lab.

Some of his favorite activities are singing (which apparently happens all the time), seeing the Rolling Stones (has seen them 30+ times) and playing the guitar, which he continuously tries to convince his wife sounds better the louder it is! He has a deep love for vacations, especially those where the ocean is blue, sun is warm, beaches are beautiful, coffee is bold, a Precor is close by and his family is all together.

John completed training with his buddy Mike and rode and raised money for two great charities: Best Buddies 100 mile ride on June 4th and The Pan Mass Challenge 192 mile bike ride (2 days) in early August. They surpassed their goal and raised over $32,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Jane Legere, Office Manager/Customer Service Administrator, Maine Office

Jane has been with JOH since 2000 and can’t imagine doing any other kind of work. She really enjoys the people she gets to talk with every day and loves to provide them with the assurance that JOH is doing all they can do to help them.

Jane is a true Mainer and loves everything about her state. She adores the four seasons and all of the outdoor activities that go along with them. Jane’s main love is her family. In her off time, you can find her spending time with her husband of 36 years, their daughter’s family and their new beautiful granddaughter Syerra. Some of her favorite activities are going to see the Seadogs with her best friend, playing Trivial Pursuit with a group of friends, vacationing in Rangeley, Maine and drinking Coca Cola!

Jodie Barnard, Deduction Analyst

Jodie has been with JOH for the past five years. She loves her boss and adores working with her team. Her primary role as an analyst is gathering data for clearing deductions and ensuring the accuracy of all billings. 

When Jodie is not at work, she loves to spend time with her husband Greg, 16 year old daughter Nicole, 13 year old son Brett and golden retriever Brodie. When they are not running around to different activities, they hunker down for Saturday movie night with milkshakes and popcorn. A lover of the sun and Mickey Mouse, Jodie’s favorite vacation spot is Disney World!

Kathy Ascolillo, Customer Service Supervisor

Kathy has been in the Food Brokerage business for 22 years and with JOH for 18 of them!! She absolutely loves her job and says that after 18 years of being at JOH she still loves what she does and loves the people she works with.

When Kathy is not working you will find her at summer concerts with her sister-in-law and of course spending time and playing with her darling kids, Anthony (6) and Angelina (4).

Bill Melvin, Account Executive/Headquarter Sales, Mid-Atlantic Office

Bill is relatively new to JOH; however, he has been in the food business for 35 years! He works out of the JOH Mid-Atlantic, Tamaqua office and believes that his colleagues are the best to work with! In fact, he is such a fan that he has committed himself to cooking brunches and BBQ's for the office. They now call him "Bacon Boy – The Company Chef!"

Bill has been married to his wonderful wife Helen for 28 years and together they have two boys, Will and Patrick. When Bill is not working (or cooking!) you can find him reading, working out or fine-tuning his photography skills!

Melissa Passalaqua, Category Management Analyst, Corporate Office

Melissa has been at JOH since December 2008. She currently works as a Category Analyst in the Category Management Department. One of her favorite things about JOH is that it's a family-oriented company and she believes it is a great place for someone like herself, with young children. She has the flexibility to be with her kids whenever they need her, and that is extremely important to her.

Melissa and her husband Bill both grew up in Billerica, and recently moved back when they purchased a new home last May. They have an eight year old son, Jason, and a one year old daughter, Stella. Melissa is currently very busy fixing their new home, but in her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking. She has made albums of her honeymoon, her son's first year and she is currently working on her daughter's baby book. She goes away twice a year with a group of girls where they work on the albums all weekend! She also loves to entertain. In the summer, Melissa and Bill have guests over almost every weekend!

Marjorie Brenton, Account Executive, Specialty Division

Marjorie began working at JOH as an Account Executive in the Specialty Division in April 2011 as part of the ISM Food acquisition. To Marjorie, food is fun. Seeing new products, taste-testing, getting involved with packaging, negotiating pricing, traveling and seeing "her product" on the shelf is what she loves most about her job.

Marjorie has been married, "let's just say, for decades." She has identical twin boys who are 24 years old. She and her husband are now empty nesters. Both of their boys live and work in Boston so they get to see each other frequently, especially on laundry days! They also have two cats, Muppet & Buster. In her spare time, Marjorie enjoys working out and cooking for herself and her family. She also likes to garden, hike, shop, entertain, travel, cross country ski and snowshoe in the winter.

Dan Fazio, Account Executive, Headquarter Sales-Non Food Division

Dan Fazio joined JOH 15 years ago. He says when he joined JOH he "died and went to heaven!" Working with the O'Hare Family is his second home. Dan is a jack of all trades. Not only is he an Account Executive, he is also known as the "Facilities Engineer."

Dan's family is his life. His son Nick, 26, works for Sovereign as a Financial Consultant and his daughter Marissa, 30, is an Elementary school teacher. Tyler, his son-in-law, is now a part of the family too. His wife JoAnn has been his backbone for 35 years and he can't live without her. Being an Italian family, they all love to cook and enjoy life to the fullest. Dan makes his own wine and gravy (that's gravy, not sauce!)

Dan grew up in Somerville, MA where he was a city boy his whole life. He now resides in Pepperell, MA on a farm with his wife, tractor and all. They just put a pool in their yard. They also have season tickets to the Patriots. When Dan is not relaxing at his home, you will find him on his Harley or on the sidelines of a Pats game!