Lemonade Day Winner is Toast of DC

Diane Hoff of Houston, Texas was the winner of Lemonade Day trip to DC.

Back in the early summer of 2009, when 9-year-old Diane Hoff was learning to be a young entrepreneur during Lemonade Day in her hometown of Houston, Texas, little did she know that she and her family would win an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Well, nice dreams can come true for nice people.

Diane’s name was entered in the “Win a free trip to Washington DC” sweepstakes, part of Imperial Sugar’s title sponsorship of Lemonade Day, and she won … not just a trip for herself but her sister Elizabeth and her parents, Edita and Jeff Hoff.

During their recent visit to the nation’s capital, Diane and her family toured famous monuments and the Capitol building, walked Washington’s Mall and visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, twice.

Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor and his wife Tiba (left), host Jeff and Edita Hoff and their children Diane and Elizabeth of Houston, Texas for dinner at their Washington, DC home.

A highlight of their trip was dinner at the home of Imperial Sugar President and CEO, John Sheptor, and his wife.

Tiba personally cooked a tasty array of her family’s favorite Persian dishes that have been prepared by her family for centuries. Passed from generation to generation by word of mouth and hands on experience, the prepared dishes included; two kinds of rice, lamb and herb rice, beef and eggplant and chicken with pomegranate sauce. The meal provided a culinary experience second to none.

Joining the Sheptor and Hoff families for dinner were Chef Eddy Van Damme and Kyle Hicks of Houston, and Ed and Adrienne Lallo of Austin, Texas.

Chef Eddy prepared dessert with Lemonade Day Trip winner Diane Hoff.

Chef Eddy and Diane worked side-by-side to prepare dessert for the meal. A flan with baked chocolate, gold leafed pear and berries. Tiba turned her kitchen over to the two chefs as the guests watched.
Lemonade Day is a very special event for Imperial Sugar. The company sweetens the Lemonade Day
 experience by supplying sample packets of pre-measured Imperial Sugar, a
lemonade recipe booklet and coupons for Imperial Sugar products. The 
sugar company also developed a set of marketing tips which are 
included in the backpacks on how the young
entrepreneurs can effectively promote their lemonade stands.

Wholesome Sweeteners, partially owned by 
Imperial Sugar, also provides organic sugar products, as well as cost-saving coupons for many of its products.

What did Diane think about all the things she experienced while in Washington? “It was cool,” she said, “seeing the Lincoln Memorial, the monuments, the Library of Congress, the White House, and visiting the home of Mr. Sheptor of Imperial Sugar.”

Back home in Houston, Diane wrote a paper for her fourth grade class and shared her adventures in the nation’s capital with classmates.

Edita Hoff, Diane’s mother, said the experience has opened up her daughter’s eyes to how big the world really is and praised the Lemonade Day program and Imperial Sugar Company’s support “to encourage young entrepreneurs to discover their talents and broaden their horizons.”

She said her daughter’s new motto is, “You can be what you want to be with hard work and determination.”

From everyone at Imperial Sugar, congratulations to sweepstakes winner Diane Hoff of Houston and thanks to Chef Eddy.