Supermarket leaders honored for community efforts

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Food Marketing Institute on Monday honored three supermarket executives for their achievements in the industry during FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference here, the association announced.

Danny Wegman, CEO of Wegmans Food Markets, was awarded the inaugural Food Marketing Institute Robert B. Wegman Award in honor of his entrepreneurial leadership in the design of retail strategies and imaginative merchandising. FMI instituted the newest award in honor of Robert B. Wegman, whose half-century leadership of Wegmans Food Markets was marked by a creative retail savvy that grew their family grocery business into one of the largest privately‐held companies in the United States.

Steven Smith, president and CEO of K-VA-T Food Stores, received the FMI Sidney R. Rabb Award in recognition for his exceptional service to the consumer, the community and the supermarket industry. The award was presented at FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference in Orlando, Fla. “Beyond corporate and social responsibility, Steve Smith represents the true meaning of community commitment,” stated Travis Staton, CEO of United Way of Russell and Washington Counties. “From buying from local farmers to giving back to area schools, Steve is improving lives within the communities he serves.”

FMI also honored Richard Parkinson, former president and CEO of Associated Food Stores, with the FMI Herbert Hoover Award for his humanitarian service in the food retail and wholesale industry.

An FMI video presentation of the 2012 FMI Robert B. Wegman Award can be seen here.

An FMI video presentation of the 2012 FMI Sidney R. Rabb Award can be seen here.

An FMI video presentation of the 2012 FMI Herbert Hoover Award can be seen here.