As leaders of companies in the snack food industry, we have a responsibility to do everything possible to develop relationships that can help as we seek to chart our companies’ future growth.

We also have a responsibility to take advantage of every opportunity that we can to learn and benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of others, those who have met the challenge of leadership, succeeded and are willing to share their lessons learned.

That is why I am urging my fellow Snack Food Association member company executives to attend and participate in the SFA’s 30th Annual Executive Leadership Forum, Sept. 24-26, at the Montage Resort & Spa, Laguna Beach, Calif.

Participants will hear first-hand from Peter Ueberroth as he describes his experiences in business and sports, encompassing the 1984 Olympic games, serving as Major League Baseball Commissioner and his career as one of America’s premier investors in business.

Ueberroth believes nothing can stop a committed group of people from making a difference in their companies and their communities. As executives, that is a lesson we all have learned at one time or another — the importance of commitment. But it is a lesson in which we may well need a refresher course, and there is no better “professor” to present it than Peter Ueberroth.

At the Executive Leadership Forum, Ueberroth will be joined by three other top business speakers, each of whom will offer information and insight that can only be gained by attending and participating in this important event:

• Scott Bornstein, president and CEO of Bornstein Knowledge Management Systems, LLC. Bornstein will unlock your brain’s powerhouse abilities for recalling names, faces and crucial details with ease. You will discover innovative tools that will help you manage and remember information, putting you in charge of what you need to know and when.

• Barry Glassner, professor of Sociology, University of Southern California. The author of seven books on contemporary social issues, Glassner’s latest book, The Gospel of Food, will be published in January. He will tell us that about everything we think we know about food is wrong, and he’ll have a thing or two to say about self-righteous nutrition reformers, pompous food critics and others who glorify certain foods and demonize others.

• John Bridgeland, president & CEO, Civic Enterprises. Bridgeland’s firm helps organizations, nonprofits, foundations, universities and governments develop and spearhead innovative public policies to strengthen our communities and country. He was Director of White House Domestic Policy on 9/11. He will discuss presidential policymaking from the perspective of the West Wing and describe his efforts to foster a civic reawakening in the country.

Of course, the Executive Leadership Forum (formerly the Top Management Conference) will offer plenty of opportunity for networking, relaxation and entertainment, and enjoying the beautiful California coast and the delights of Laguna Beach. There will be many optional activities in the afternoons, including golf and tennis tournaments.

I hope to see many of my friends and colleagues in Laguna Beach next month. To register, just contact SFA at 1-703-836-4500, or visit www.sfa.org.