NAMA Honors Three Champions Of Vending Dieffenbach Recher and Schindelar

LAS VEGAS -- A highlight of the National Automatic Merchandising Association's annual membership meeting, held during the OneShow in late April, was the presentation of the NAMA Industry Awards. The program recognizes individuals whose careers exemplify consistent devotion to the vending business through leadership and effective involvement in both professional and community activities.

Honored as Industry Person of the Year is Mark B. Dieffenbach, director of specialty channels for Hershey Co. A 31-year veteran of the vending industry, he has been a member of the NAMA board since 2007. Elected to the board's executive committee in 2008, Dieffenbach served as chairman in 2012-2013. He currently is chairman of the NAMA Foundation's board of trustees.

Lauded as Operator of the Year is Alan T. Recher, president and chief executive of Five Star Food Service (Chattanooga, TN). Recher also has 31 years' industry experience. He joined Five Star in 2005 as chief operating officer, following a successful career with Aramark Refreshment Services during which he rose to the post of vice-president. Recher is a longtime member of both NAMA and the Tennessee Automatic Merchandising Association, an affiliated state council.

Hailed as Allied Member of the Year is Paul H. Schindelar, who retired from MondelÄ"z International last year. During his three decades in the industry, Schindelar gained extensive experience in beverage and foodservice distribution prior to joining Nabisco's vending and coffee service sales and service organization. After owning and operating a gourmet coffee shop, Barista Brava Coffee (Baltimore), Schindelar went on to hold executive roles with a number of leading suppliers. He helped develop and promote the interactive Diji-touch vending machine with the Kraft organization that now is MondelÄ"z International (Deerfield, IL). He served on NAMA's board of directors from 2007 through 2014, and was an energetic advocate for the industry through his participation in the association's public policy conference.

PHOTO:NAMA chairman Pete Tullio (l.) and chief executive Carla Balakgie honor, from left, Paul Schindelar (Allied Member of the Year), Mark Dieffenbach (Industry Person of the Year) and Alan Recher (Operator of the Year). The vending industry awards presentation took place during NAMA's annual membership meeting on April 23 in Las Vegas.