FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2006

CONTACT: Heather Trusty - 703.610.0230

Sunny Guraedy Named 2006 Pillsbury Grand Champion at RBA's 6th Annual Creative Decorating Competition

MC LEAN, VA - The Retail Bakers of America is proud to announce that Sunny Guraedy from Minot, North Dakota, has won this year's RBA Creative Decorating Competition, sponsored by General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice, and has been awarded the coveted title of 2006 Pillsbury Grand Champion. The two-day competition, held during the 2006 American Bakery Expo, Oct. 21 - 23, featured 14 talented professional cake decorators from around the country competing in 5 categories Flowers and Sprays with Borders, Wedding Cake, Rolled Fondant, Custom Design Cakes and Sculpted Cakes.

A representative of the Upper Midwest Bakery Association, Sunny is a professional decorator at Arrowhead Miracle Mart in Minot, North Dakota. She qualified for the 2006 Competition by winning her local RBA Affiliate competition back in February.

"All of this year's competitors are truly talented decorators," noted Susan Nicolais, CAE, Executive Vice President of RBA. "Their dedication to their work was evident by the quality of their presentations."

In addition to the naming of the Pillsbury Grand Champion, individual category winners were also awarded:
Custom Design Cakes
Theresa Torealba from The Great Dane Bakery in Huntington, CA, representing the California Retail Bakers Association

Wedding Cake
Christiana Popescu from Daube's Bakery in Rochester, MN, representing the Upper Midwest Bakery Association South Region

Rolled Fondant
Becky Nels from A Taste of Elegance in Beaver Creek, OH, representing the Greater Cincinnati Retail Bakers Association

Sculpted Cake
Marcel Kopplin an instructor at Spokane Community College in Spokane, WA, representing the Pacific Northwest Baking Association

Flowers & Sprays
Tammy Montesinos from Central Continental Bakery in Mt. Prospect, IL, representing the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association


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Retail Bakers of America (RBA)-a 501(c)6 not-for-profit trade association located in McLean, VA-with membership of approximately 1,100 retail bakeries, allied suppliers, educators, students and other industry partners-is committed to the success of the retail baking industry. Founded in 1918, RBA works as the bakers' business partner and resource provider, and is the nation's premier source of industry information.