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FMI Honors Wegman, Parkinson

ORLANDO, Fla. — Food Marketing Institute on Monday said Danny Wegman was the inaugural recipient of the Robert B. Wegman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, presented at FMI’s annual Midwinter Executive Conference here. Also on Monday, FMI said Richard Parkinson was the recipient of the association’s annual Herbert Hoover award recognizing humanitarian service in the food retail industry.

Danny Wegman, chief executive officer of Wegmans Food Markets, is the son of Robert B. Wegman, whose half-century leadership of Wegmans was marked by a creative retail savvy that grew their family grocery business into one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S., FMI said. Since joining the company in 1964 as a store manager, Danny Wegman helped mold the organization into one of the top-ranking companies to work for, recognized by Fortune magazine for the past 15 years. Under Wegman’s leadership, the nearly 100-year-old privately owned brand has become a $6.2 billion family-friendly franchise.

Parkinson, the former president and CEO of Associated Food Stores, Salt Lake City, was honored for humanitarian service. FMI said AFS is best known for its camaraderie of independent operators across the U.S. “Parkinson’s mantra to his success includes a critical component: People,” FMI said. “His commitment to fostering growth was not only with the customers in the stores, but also with the associates who run them. Parkinson worked toward building company unity across all the Associated Food Stores."

In concert with his commitment to his associates, Parkinson made a point to visit all of the 600 independently owned stores on his motorcycle. This tour throughout the U.S. was a way to foster employee relationships and learn about operations, keeping a close bond between wholesaler and retailer.

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