GMA Recognizes Hy-Vee’s Jurgens, Clement Pappas

Ric Jurgens, former chairman and CEO of Hy-Vee, Inc. and Dean Pappas, CEO of Clement Pappas and Co., Inc., were honored before more than 700 industry leaders at the annual chairman’s dinner at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Executive Conference.

“Lifetime achievement is the hallmark of the GMA Hall of Achievement Award, and by that standard, no two people are more deserving than Ric Jurgens and Dean Pappas,” said GMA president and CEO Pamela G. Bailey. “Their business savvy, their desire to make the world a better place and their compassion for their associates, their communities and their consumers sets them apart.”

A 42-year veteran of the W. Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee, Jurgens’ leadership bolstered the regional retailer’s reputation as an industry leader in health, wellness and sustainability. Having served as chairman of the Food Marketing Institute during the launch the industry’s Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and groundbreaking front-of-package nutrition labeling initiative, Jurgens – who retired from Hy-Vee in June – is presently co-chair the governor of Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative, a plan to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation over the next five years.

Meanwhile, Dean Pappas, who joined Clement Pappas and Co. in 1962, along with his brother, Peter, grew the company to a leader in the supply of private label fruit juice beverages and cranberry sauce to leading wholesalers and retailers throughout North America.

Pappas was chairman and CEO until his family’s recent sale of the business in June 2011. Pappas’s long-standing commitment to the CPG industry is evidenced by his 27 years of service on the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), Food Processors Association (FPA) and GMA Boards of Directors, including serving as chairman of NFPA in 2004. 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.

This April, 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 is presented to the best and brightest in the CPG industry and GMA is proud to honor these two men who have been so successful as business leaders and who have given so much back to the industry and to their communities,” concluded Bailey.