When CDC Gaming first received the news regarding Geoff Freeman’s upcoming departure as President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, I was angry. I was concerned that Geoff was bailing on what has become a very productive working relationship between CDC and the AGA, and even more irritated that the gaming industry was no longer the optimal arena for Freeman’s considerable, proven talents.
But when I learned more about where he was moving to, my irritation became admiration, though certainly not outright happiness. On August 1, Geoff Freeman will become President and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. On the surface the career change looks (as someone said over dinner a few nights ago) like a “cushy grocery lobbyist job probably much easier and less controversial than the AGA!” To which my response, now, is, “Thanks for dinner, but you are wrong on both counts.” The food industry is more controversial, and running the GMA in 2018 is certainly not cushy.
Food – its creation, production, distribution, and final preparation at a home, restaurant, or other setting, is the most important industry in any civilization, including our American one. The reason we can spend our time working, traveling, gambling, patronizing the arts, participating in sports, and discussing important subjects such as whether Melania Trump will be showing up on camera today, is that 90 percent of all Americans do not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from – and have ample choices as to what that meal will be, no matter how much time or money they have. Most of us can feed ourselves for a day on what we can earn in one hour.
Food production is fundamental. Agriculture was the key driver for the creation of early civilization – but mankind’s change from the varied diet of a nomadic hunter-gatherer to that of a farmer living only on the limited products which his village could raise actually shortened the average height and decreased the overall health of early civilized man. It was only with fully functional food production and distribution (that is, trade) that mankind took full advantage of the varied diet which the world provides. To bring it closer to home, if Las Vegas had to rely on only locally grown food it would not exist. Farming is important, grocery stores are important, but the assemblage in the middle – food and beverage manufacturers – are the key links in the chain that brings the best of the world to my table and yours.
Like the gaming industry the food industry is subject to changing tastes (organic, vegetarian), fads (gluten-free diets aren’t really better for everyone), myths (blaming food manufacturers for the increase in obesity), legitimate concerns (food labeling that is both informative and efficient), and well-meaning but misguided proposals for new regulation. But the changing tastes, myths, and concerns are many times bigger, and proposed regulations and legislation are much more common for the food industry than for the gaming industry. Food producers need a strong, well-run Washington trade organization so they to do their job of providing food in a safe, effective, and cost-efficient manner.
Unfortunately, the Grocery Manufacturers Association is not anywhere close to being in the admirable condition that Frank Fahrenkopf left the AGA five years ago. In the past year several big players, including the Campbell Soup Company, Nestlé, and Cargill, have left over disagreements with GMA management, association bylaws, and the GMA’s inability to evolve with an ever-changing industry. Many food industry and political experts wonder if the GMA will even survive.
This certainly is a job for SuperFreeman!
Over the past week I have heard and read discussions of Geoff’s achievements at the AGA, his intelligence, his quick grasp of issues, his devotion to his family, his love of sports, his occasional aloofness, and his disdain for the fine art of personal small talk. However, the attribute I admire the most – his ethics – should be a major asset at the GMA.
Based on personal experience I know that Geoff will not do anything for a professional colleague, friend, or even major industry player unless he feels that the action is best for his organization and, most importantly, for the industry it represents. I personally lobbied Geoff beginning two weeks into his tenue to break off AGA sponsorship of SmartBrief’s gaming news e-publication, but he held off for 18 months – and then only terminated that relationship because he did not feel that the publication’s quality was right for the AGA or the industry. I have heard similar (at time painfully told) stories from others in the gaming media, professionals, vendors, and even AGA board members regarding Geoff’s take on issues large and small. Geoffrey Todd Freeman’s professional ethics are unassailable – and we are talking about a successful Washington, D.C., lobbyist.
If anyone can assist the most important industry in America by straightening up the Grocery Manufacturers Association (perhaps starting with changing that antiquated name), that would be Geoff Freeman.
Godspeed SuperFreeman! Good luck, Geoff.
Jeffrey Compton is the Publisher of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at jcompton@cdcgamingreports.com.
