NAC Names Dave Guepfer as 2022 Mickey Warner Recipient

The National Association of Concessionaires (NAC) announced that Dave Guepfer, the former Food and Beverage Manager of the La Crosse Center in Wisconsin, has been named the 2022 Mickey Warner Award Recipient. The Mickey Warner Award is bestowed upon an individual each year by NAC to recognize leadership and significant accomplishments in the non-theatre concession industry.

The award honors the late Mickey Warner, the father of the NAC Concession Manager Certification Program and one of the greatest innovators and educators of the concessions industry. The 2022 award presentation will take place on Wednesday, July 27 at the Awards Luncheon during the 2022 Concession & Hospitality Expo at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista.

Prior to his retirement in December of 2021, Guepfer served as Food and Beverage Manager of the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin for 22 years. The La Crosse Center hosts conventions, meetings, trade shows, concerts, weddings, and sporting events that welcome hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. The Center recently completed an extensive two-year renovation and expansion.

Guepfer has been in the food business since his first job at McDonald’s at 16 years of age. He has been a member of NAC since 2004. He joined the NAC Board of Directors in 2016 and has been an active participant in the NAC Expo and currently serves on the Government Relations Committee and Communications Committee. Guepfer has taken the lead at past Expos in serving as a moderator for the Stadiums/ Arenas/ Convention Centers Venue Breakout groups and participated in several of the Re Opening conference calls in 2020 as a panelist. He also was on the Buyer/Seller Relationship Panel for the virtual NAC ReTreat Conference in 2020.

Dave and his wife Donna make La Crosse their home. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and watching the Green Bay Packers. Very active in the community, he served as past president and board member of the La Crosse Oktoberfest, one of the top three in America according to USA Today.

Past recipients of the Mickey Warner Award include: Shelly Feldman of Shelly Feldman Associates (2002), Walter Dunn of the Coca-Cola Company (2003), Frank Liberto of Ricos Products Company (2004), Jeremy M. Jacobs of the Delaware North Companies (2005), Chris Bigelow of Bigelow Companies (2006), Phil Noyes of Proof of the Pudding (2007), Ken Young of Ovations Food Service (2008), Charlie Cretors of C. Cretors and Company (2009), Gary Horvath of Ovations Food Service (2010), J. C. Evans of Gold Medal Products (2011), Larry Etter of Malco Theatres (2012), Terry Conlon of the University of Illinois (2013), Gary Wattie of Centerplate (2014), Dan Kroeger of Gold Medal (2015), Charlie Neary of Spectra Food Services & Hospitality (2016), Joe Joyce (2017), Jon Muscalo of Legends Hospitality Management (2018), Brian E. McMillin of The Lexington Center Corporation (2019), Charlie Gomez of Ricos Products Company (2020) And Jeff Scudillo, of PIM Brands, Inc. (2021)

About NAC: The National Association of Concessionaires is the trade association for the recreation and leisure-time food and beverage concessions industry. Members are comprised of the owners and operators of facilities such as: Movie Theatres, Stadiums & Arenas, Zoos & Aquariums, Colleges & Universities, Foodservice Contractors, Park & Recreation Departments, Amusement Parks & Family Entertainment Centers, Ice and Roller Skating Rinks, Racetracks, Bowling Centers, Outdoor facilities, Convention centers and Performing Arts Centers. Our members also are the companies that provide products and services to these facilities, including: Suppliers, Equipment Manufacturers, Popcorn Processors, Jobber Distributors, Consultants and Brokers.

For more information:
Chris Dammann
Executive Vice President
612-849-8418
cdammann@naconline.org

Category: News Releases