PLANO, Texas, March 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Frito-Lay North America's Central New York sales team is being honored with this year's Dale Stortz Award for being the "Zone of the Year" for 2010. The Dale Stortz Award, named for one of Frito-Lay's most respected sales leaders, is given each year to the team that demonstrates the most outstanding performance in sales, profitability, safety and employee retention. The Central New York Zone beat nearly 130 zones nationwide to win this honor. The zone encompasses several cities in the region including Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica.

To recognize this team and the significance of this award, the Central New York team celebration was hosted by Frito-Lay senior executive leadership, including senior vice president and general manager of the North Business Unit Dave Scalera, at a special ceremony today at the Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse, N.Y.

"The Central New York team's excellent customer service and employee retention sets them apart from the other zones, and makes me proud to present the Dale Stortz Award to this group of creative and hardworking leaders," said Scalera.

"Being named No. 1 in the country, and winning the Dale Stortz Award, means so much to my team and me," said Larry Quinn, Central New York sales zone director, Frito-Lay North America. "This honor is a direct result of their hard work, dedication and commitment to their communities, customers and the company, to deliver above-and-beyond everyday."

Frito-Lay North America is the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com/, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America