Amy Rouse named Alaska and SNA Northwest Region Director of the Year; Michele Powers, Alaska Manager of the Year

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
Gavin M Northey
Email: news@aksna.org

Amy Rouse named Alaska and SNA Northwest Region Director of the Year; Michele Powers, Alaska Manager of the Year

FAIRBANKS, AK – MAY 26, 2020 – The Alaska School Nutrition Association congratulates Amy Rouse, the Alaska and Northwest Regional Director of the Year, and Michele Powers, Alaska Manager of the Year.

Rouse is the Nutrition Services Director in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District; Powers is the Operations Supervisor in the Anchorage School District.

As the director for the past 13 years, Rouse has used her social media and marketing savvy to inform the community and successfully promote her school meal program. One of the first in Alaska to initiate online free and reduced-price meal applications, Rouse incorporated interactive online menus and electronic production records. She has also supported other districts and the state agency in their move to electronic data systems. Rouse also maintains an engaging social media presence – highlighting program operations, nutrition services staff, holidays, celebrations, promotional events and new program initiatives. Social media plays a big part in sharing news about national and local celebrations, such as National School Lunch Week, National School Breakfast Week, African-American History Month, Alaska Grown Menus, taste tests and guest servers. Keeping her students engaged and excited, Rouse also holds student surveys for new menu items.

She believes in providing educational and training programs for her staff, encouraging her primary managerial staff to participate in state association networking and training opportunities. Professional standards are important to Rouse, who maintains a very structured staff training program during teacher in-service days. More than half of her sites have been awarded with the State of Alaska Food Safety Excellence (SAFE) food safety recognition program this year.

About SNA Awards

NA celebrates members who work every day to ensure well-nourished students across the country are prepared for success. The Director of the Year award recognizes school nutrition directors for the contributions they have made throughout their school nutrition career; the Manager of the Year award, in honor of Louise Sublette recognizes school nutrition managers for the contributions they have made throughout their school nutrition career.

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AKSNA is the state affiliate of the School Nutrition Association (SNA), a national, nonprofit professional organization representing more than 58,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. Recognized as the authority on school nutrition, SNA has been advancing the availability, quality and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part of education since 1946.

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