Last updated on June 13th, 2024 at 12:00 pm
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Hall of Achievement Award was presented to Richard Jurgens, chairman and CEO of Hy-Vee Inc., and Dean Pappas, CEO of Clement Pappas & Co. Inc., before more than 700 industry leaders at the annual chairman’s dinner at the GMA Executive Conference earlier this week. The Hall of Achievement Award represents the highest honor given by the more than 100-year-old association.
A 42-year veteran of the company, Jurgens has been Hy-Vee’s top officer since 2006. Though Jurgens has now stepped down from his position at Hy-Vee, he leaves behind a legacy that has boosted the company’s reputation as an industry leader in health and wellness. Jurgens served as chairman of the Food Marketing Institute and helped launch the industry’s Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation as well as the groundbreaking front-of-package nutrition labeling initiative.
Pappas joined Clement Pappas and Co. in 1962. He was chairman and CEO until his family’s sale of the business in June 2011. He also served as president of the National Juice Products Association and chairman of the Food Institute, New Jersey Food Processors Association, and the New Jersey Farm Workers Corp. In early 2012, Pappas and his wife, Zoe, established the Dean C. and Zoe S. Pappas Visiting Scholar Endowment Fund, with a $1 million endowment to bring renowned speakers to Richard Stockton College.
The GMA Hall of Achievement Award honors the extraordinary service and contributions of the consumer packaged goods industry’s most distinguished leaders. Now in its 28th year, past recipients include Doug Conant of Campbell’s Soup, Rick Wolford of Del Monte Foods, AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Joseph Pichler of Kroger Co., Robert Rich of Rich Products Corp. and Stephen Sanger of General Mills Inc.
