WASHINGTON, DC – March 28, 2001 – Recognizing his leadership in lobbying for electricity deregulation, property tax repeal, food code enhancement and other issues in his home state of Ohio, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) presented Tom Jackson, president of the Ohio Grocers Association, the 2001 Donald H. MacManus Association Executive Award. The annual award was presented during the Annual Public Affairs Assembly – hosted by Food Distributors International (FDI), Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and National Grocers Association (NGA) – being held here.

Jackson “was instrumental in the signature initiative of deregulating electricity in Ohio – injecting competition into Ohio’s electric utility industry and bringing significant cost savings to retailers,” said FMI president and CEO Tim Hammonds in presenting the award.

Together with the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, Jackson persuaded the statehouse to reduce the retailers’ tangible personal property tax by 1 percent each year until the tax is eliminated, saving retailers thousands of dollars a year. Additionally, he led a vigorous effort to replace the state’s outdated food code with a comprehensive code enforced by a single licensing and inspection authority.

“Tom exemplifies the name that many people in the Ohio statehouse know him by – ‘Action Jackson,’ said Hammonds. “His tireless efforts in serving the industry make him a model in association leadership.”

The MacManus Award was created in 1990 to honor a member of the FMI Association Council who has shown extraordinary leadership in advancing the interests of the food retail industry at the state and national levels, specifically in the areas of public affairs, industry relations and community service.