Big Y Appoints Sheffield Woman as New Marketing Leader

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Big Y Foods has appointed Sarah Steven of Sheffield as senior director of marketing. 

In this new capacity, Steven will oversee all aspects of marketing across the company’s brands of Big Y World Class Markets, Big Y Express Gas and Convenience, Fresh Acres specialty market and Table & Vine wines and spirits. As such, she will lead the marketing team to further develop the brand's digital initiatives, including programming to support the launch of e-commerce. Her work on the brand will ensure that Big Y continues to grow its customer base within existing markets as it expands to new regions in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

"I am excited to dig in with the talented team at Big Y, to bring new concepts and ideas to the table, and to enrich the beloved Big Y brand with initiatives that will ensure its position as a leader in the competitive supermarket industry," Steven said.

Like her predecessor, John Schnepp who has retired, she reports to Guy McFarlane, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Throughout Steven's marketing career, she has worked to support and develop global brands distributed through a variety of channels – supermarkets, department stores, boutiques and spas, as well as online through e-commerce. She started her career with Pepperidge Farm as an assistant marketing manager in 1998 working on their flagship Goldfish brand. She later moved to Godiva Chocolatier, where she led the global re-launch of core product lines and was promoted to the position of business director, marketing, partnering with in-house stakeholders to drive promotions, develop advertising campaigns and media strategy. 

In 2008, Steven joined Iredale Mineral Cosmetics in 2010 as director, brand advocacy to focus on building brand awareness and brand equity for the growing company. She was promoted to vice president of marketing in 2012 and expanded her team to support growth initiatives and distribution expansion opportunities, as well as innovative digital-first initiatives including a Loyalty Program, eLearning curriculum, innovative social media and digital advertising strategies.

Steven holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from Duke University-Fuqua School of Business in Durham, N.C. She has received industry awards for her leadership such as the Campbell Soup Company CEO Extraordinary Performance, Godiva Chocolatier Proud Performance Awards as well as Godiva North America’s President’s Award. 

Steven lives in Sheffield, Mass., with her two children.


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Force Drops Pair at USSSA Tournament

iBerkshires.com Sports
SALISBURY, Md. -- The Berkshire Force 16-and-under travel softball team got the tying run to the plate in the top of the fourth, but its rally fell short in a 6-4 decision on Tuesday at the United States Specialty Sports Association's Eastern National Championship.
 
Berkshire's second game of the day went down to the wire with Maryland's Brunswick Steam ahead, 6-1, after three innings.
 
With the tournament's time constraing making the fourth inning the Force's last chance, it got a one-out single from Julia McComish to start a three-run rally.
 
Ava McMahon singled to put two runners on, and with two out, Lexi Spratling singled to left to make it 6-2.
 
Amelia Polidoro worked a walk to load the bases, and Madilyn Demary earned a seven-pitch walk to bring in a run, making it 6-3. Spratling scored on a wild pitch, but Brunswick's pitcher got a groundball out to end the rally.
 
McMahon went three innings in the circle, allowing three earned runs in the loss.
 
The Force started its Tuesday against the Beacon Extreme of New York, which earned a 5-1 win after scoring five in the top of the second.
 
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