Commentary

Self-Service Innovation Summit to honor Allan Z Gilbert's industry service

The Self-Service Innovation Summit will honor the late Allen Z. Gilbert for his contributions to the convenience services industry with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo courtesy of the Gilbert family.

September 8, 2021 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Vending Times will honor the late Allan Z. Gilbert with its Lifetime Achievement Award during the Self-Service Innovation Summit, Dec. 14-16 in Hollywood, Florida.

Gilbert, whose passing at 82 was reported last week, will be honored during the Self-Service Innovation Awards at 4 p.m. Dec. 15 for his contributions to the convenience services industry.

That Gilbert is deserving of such an honor is evident from the social media accolades that have poured in from the many people he helped over the years.

Allan more than embodied the entrepreneurial spirit that makes this industry such a joy to be a part of. Besides his business and entrepreneurial talents, his willingness to help others knew no bounds. And when you got to know Allan, he got to know you.

I remember my first conversation with him. It might not have been my first day on the job when I became a vending industry magazine editor in 1993, but it was definitely my first week. My publisher instructed me to call Allan and introduce myself since I'd be working with him. He was a regular contributor on vending management topics, which I'm sure many of you remember.

In preparing myself for that call, I read several of his articles and immediately recognized I would be working with an industry expert. Allan had an encyclopedic knowledge of vending and refreshments services operations from his years running New England Vending Corp., Lemon Tree Systems and Data Intelligence Systems, one of the first vending management software providers in the 1970s.

We immediately hit it off. Before discussing magazine topics, he gave me a short history of his career and asked me about my own career and aspirations. We discussed our personal interests as well, and learned that we both attended Boston University. I was delighted that I had found my first industry friend.

Allan was always willing to take my calls when I had questions about industry subjects. This was especially helpful early in my editorship.

At that time in his career, Allan was running Merrimack Financial Services, providing working capital to vending and coffee service businesses, as well as serving as a mergers and acquisitions adviser.

Reading his business advice articles, I learned that not only did he possess a wealth of knowledge on complex subjects such as route management, machine maintenance, product pricing, location profitability and more, but he was able to articulate these often highly detailed subjects in laymans terms.

He donated his compensation from these articles to the Massachusetts Vending Association Scholarship fund, a fund he started that continues to this day to help students of vending industry employed families.

Bob Watson, chairman and CEO of LPM Holding Co. Inc., in his accolade, called Allan the "Henry Kissinger of the vending world," noting that Allan was always looking for ways to make the scholarship fund larger to cover more people.

And while his industry knowledge was deep, he was anything but professorial in his demeanor. Allan was a fun person. I always looked forward to seeing him at trade shows. He loved to tell and hear stories, and had many interests beyond business.

Learning the industry was a joy with Allan. We would walk trade shows together and he would share his thoughts about the technologies and equipment on display. He was held in high esteem by both exhibitors and attendees.

Following trade show hours, the Merrimack Financial Services suite was filled with visitors networking, sharing ideas about the exhibits. Attendees from all parts of the country made valuable contacts.

Allan became less active in his later years, but I always made it a point to call him when in Boston. Even on late notice, he arranged time to meet for dinner.

My colleague Alicia Lavay, brand director of Vending Times, is also one of many who found Allan's counsel helpful both personally and professionally over the years. Alicia used one of his favorite words to describe him — "mensch," which is Yiddish for a person of honor and integrity.

All of us fortunate enough to know Allan will miss his charm, wit, intellect and eloquence.

Allan, thank you for your service.