The National Grocers Association (NGA) held its annual conference on February 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As part of this conference, the Asparagus Club sponsors a national undergraduate case study competition. This year, the University of Illinois and ACE department sent its first team of undergraduate students to compete in the case competition, where teams were tasked with answering the question “What is the next generation of retail circulars?”. The U of I team proposed a personalized digital circular and a phase-out of printed circulars – a strategy which earned them one of six spot in the National Semifinals!
Case study team members included Mike Azzaro (Senior in Agribusiness Markets and Management; Park Ridge, IL), Leah Horton (Senior in Agribusiness Markets and Management; St. Charles, IL), Rachel Richardson (Sophomore in Consumer Economics and Finance; Champaign, IL), and Aaron Wall (Senior in Agribusiness Markets and Management; Effingham, IL). The team was advised by Dr. Brenna Ellison, Assistant Professor in the ACE department.

Students pictured left to right: Rachel Richardson, Mike Azzaro, Leah Horton, and Aaron Wall