George Abiaad Named 2026 Mickey Warner Award Honoree
The Entertainment Food & Beverage Association has announced that George Abiaad, the Founder and President of Royal Corporation, has been named the 2026 Mickey Warner Award Recipient. The Mickey Warner Award is bestowed upon an individual each year by EF&B to recognize leadership and significant accomplishments in the 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 2026 award presentation will take place on Wednesday, September 23 at the Awards Luncheon during the 2026 Concession & Hospitality Expo.
George Abiaad is the Founder and President of Royal Corporation. After immigrating to the United States from war-torn Lebanon at age 17, he started a cleaning business to help pay for college, serving churches and movie theatres before recognizing an opportunity to better support customers through commercial supplies and distribution. He established Royal Corporation and built the company around personalized service, meaningful relationships, innovation, and a commitment to earning customers’ trust every day.
Over the last four decades, under his leadership, Royal has grown from a local West Coast distributor into a nationally recognized supplier serving the theatre industry with janitorial products, sanitation programs, foodservice disposables, concession supplies, training, and customized operational solutions. Industry profiles and customer testimonials credit Abiaad and Royal with fostering a service culture centered on integrity, responsiveness, collaboration, and measurable customer value. Today, Royal proudly continues its legacy as part of Imperial Brady, North America’s leading distributor of foodservice packaging, commercial cleaning supplies, janitorial equipment, and industrial packaging.
Abiaad and Royal Corporation have been a leader and staunch supporter in the educational mission of EF&B. They are instrumental in getting the EF&B Regional Seminar Series off to a great start by hosting the biennial kick-off session and setting the bar high in terms of execution and attendance. The company supports the Association at a high level in terms of leadership, volunteerism and sponsorships. Royal annually sponsors many new members and is a constant force in advocating for the industry.
A lifelong learner, Abiaad holds degrees in Mathematics and Logic, Philosophy, and Science and Religion, with an emphasis in Apologetics. He is widely respected for his faith, entrepreneurial vision, mentorship, and servant leadership.
His honors include the 2019 Ben Marcus Humanitarian Award, along with multiple Vendor of the Year awards from leading theatre companies.
Past recipients 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 Comcast Spectacor (2016), Joe Joyce of Playhouse Square (2017), Jon Muscalo of Legends Hospitality Management (2018), Brian McMillin of The Lexington Center Corporation (2019), Charlie Gomez of Ricos Products Company (2020), Jeff Scudillo of PIM Brands, Inc. (2021), Dave Guepfer of the La Crosse Center (2022), George Raub IV of Delaware North (2023), Shelly Olesen of C. Cretors and Company (2024) and Jeff Peterson of Mars Wrigley Confection (2025).
Category: News Releases
