GREENSBORO, NC, June 15, 2021 – Every year, Progressive Grocer Magazine recognizes outstanding women across all parts of the North American food retail and grocery industries with their ‘Top Women in Grocery’ awards. The national, prestigious award is the industry's longest running program that celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of women at all levels.

While hundreds of women are nominated for the award, four leaders from The Fresh Market were recognized as ‘Top Women in Grocery’ for 2021 in the categories of Senior Level Executive and Rising Stars.

Senior Level Executive: Diane Cleven, Vice President of Deli/CMS/Sushi/Bakery Diane has been with The Fresh Market for 21 years and oversees the prepared foods department as well as deli, cheese, charcuterie, and sushi. In July of 2020, Diane also acquired oversight of the bakery department. In addition, she is also in charge of The Fresh Market’s increasingly popular holiday meal offerings every year. Other responsibilities include vendor management, warehouse forecasting, profit and loss duties to achieve sales and margin goals, and merchandising. Diane is also a founding member of The Fresh Market’s Women’s Business Resource Group.

Rising Stars: Shay Dalton, Director of Learning and Leadership Shay is responsible for all training and development of The Fresh Market's corporate office and field team members. Shay and her team develop the leadership and training curriculum and oversees The Fresh Market Academy which houses the specialty grocer’s online training courses. Shay is a founding member of The Fresh Market’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Board as well as a founding member of The Fresh Market’s Women’s Business Resource Group. In addition to being certified to facilitate Korn Ferry Leadership Development workshops, Shay is also a Birkman Certified Professional leading individual and team development sessions at The Fresh Market.

Revae Embs, Director of Human Resources and Team Member Relations Revae oversees human resources for the corporate office, as well as employee relations and culture and engagement for The Fresh Market store team members. Revae leads and supports issues management, employee engagement, policies management and implementation and retention strategies for the business. She also oversees hiring and office operations for the corporate office. Revae is a founding member of the Fresh Market’s Women’s Business Resource Group.

Meredith Stringer, Director of Bulk/Coffee/Candy Meredith has been with The Fresh Market for over 10 years and is the lead Category Manager responsible for the Bulk, Candy, and Coffee department. Her responsibilities include seasonal and everyday item curation, pricing, promotions, supplier negotiations, and in-store display merchandising plans.

“We’re proud to have these four talented women from The Fresh Market receive this high honor,” said Jason Potter, President and CEO of The Fresh Market. “It is a privilege to work alongside Diane, Revae, Shay and Meredith, and each one is incredibly deserving of this award. It’s a testament to the instrumental role they play and value they bring to our company, and we are grateful to have them as part of The Fresh Market team.”

The ‘Top Women in Grocery’ award is an individual achievement for The Fresh Market’s four honorees, and it also adds to the specialty grocer’s latest list of accolades including being named as the “Best Supermarket in America” for 2021 by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

The full list of this year’s ‘Top Women in Grocery’ can be found online here and in Progressive Grocer’s June 2021 issue. For more information about The Fresh Market, visit www.thefreshmarket.com.