New Glory CEO Reaches Out to Tornado Victims Across the South
By Maxine C. Jones and Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – When a tornado tore across Alabama and six other states two weeks ago, it killed more than 400 people and left thousands homeless – not only without shelter, but many without food and the essentials of life.
As residents of Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana continue to struggle to pull their lives together, at least one CEO of a Black-owned company has joined with the Red Cross, FEMA and other public and private disaster responders in order to quell at least some of the pain. New Glory Foods CEO Michael B. Moore, who has sent more than 50,000 cans of vegetables to food banks in the hardest hit areas, says it is a corporate responsibility to rich out to customers in crisis.
“I come from a family where service is kind of a part of what we do going back a number of generations. For me, the notion of giving back to your communities is something that’s kind of imbedded in my DNA,” Moore said in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire. “As a marketing company, a company that has a brand in the African-American community, it’s our obligation really to do what we can to participate with folks, both with good times and not so good times.”
Though he is a native of a Boston suburb, Moore has deep roots in South. His parents grew up in North and South Carolina. After the disaster, which prompted President Obama to declare Alabama a disaster area, it hit home with the new CEO of the $100 million company.
“Our business is all about connecting with consumers to various degrees. From a product standpoint, we want to deliver a product that tastes great, is nutritious and that also kind of carries on those culinary African-American food traditions,” says Moore. “But, we also recognize that we are a part of the community that we serve and that we sell to; so obviously with all the tragedy that occurred in the South, we want to do what we can to just help…We are dropping the products off and trying to be a part of the solution.” he said.
In addition to southern-style seasoned greens and canned vegetables, Glory also sells fresh bagged vegetables, corn bread mixes, hot sauces and cooking bases. Moore is not new to Glory. He transitioned from his role as a senior consultant and Glory board member. Early in his marketing career, he held brand management positions at General Foods USA and Coca-Cola USA where he worked on Jell-O Gelatin and Coca-Cola classic brands.
According to a corporate news release, “Moore’s experienced background with consumer goods companies as well as his entrepreneurial successes made him a natural fit for the 20-year-old, family-founded company.”
Said Randy Zeno, Glory’s board member and CEO of Dr. Miracles’s, Inc., “We are extremely lucky to have Michael at the helm, as his career and experience personifies Glory’s delicate balance between being an iconic brand and a ‘get-her-done,’ ground-floor operation.”