THE NATIONAL AUTOMATIC MERCHANDISING ASSOCIATION (NAMA) AWARDS ART WITTERN ALLIED MEMBER OF THE YEAR

DES MOINES, IOWA – Art Wittern, Chairman of the Board for eVending’s parent company The Wittern Group, has been named NAMA’s Allied Vending Member of the Year.  The Allied Member of the Year award, presented live at the OneShow on April 13th, is one of three NAMA Industry Awards that recognize the most widely respected leaders in the industry, as nominated by their peers.  The OneShow is the nation’s largest vending and refreshment services trade event, which will be held April 13–15, 2016 at the Lakeside Center McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.

An industry veteran as a C-level executive for over 55 years, Mr. Wittern held the position of President and CEO of The Wittern Group until 1990, when he was named Chairman and the company transitioned to its third generation of family ownership.  For over 20 years, Mr. Wittern was the driving force behind The Wittern Group’s strategy as it diversified and transformed its product and service offerings to adapt to advancements in technology, shifting markets, and changing customer needs.

At The Wittern Group, Mr. Wittern fostered a culture that empowered those around him to think beyond the status quo and dream the impossible.  This modus operandi and Mr. Wittern’s hands-on approach to product research and design was instrumental in creating the multi-zone frozen vending machine which was revolutionary for the vending industry.  Presently, Mr. Wittern’s efforts are focused on strengthening the company’s position among professional vending operators and the distributors who supply them.

“The Industry Awards are a beloved element of the OneShow, recognizing leaders who have served our association and the industry as innovators and advocates,” said Dan Mathews, NAMA Executive Vice President and COO.  “Art has performed above and beyond, helping The Wittern Group achieve success while devoting his time and talent to NAMA, overall industry efforts, his colleagues, and the community.  He is a true inspiration and I congratulate him on this well-deserved honor,” commented Mr. Mathews.

“I am greatly honored for the recognition from NAMA in the form of this prestigious award. I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues who work every day to make The Wittern Group successful and most importantly, to our customers and distributors,” commented Mr. Wittern.  “As we introduce our next generation vending machine, the Evoke series, at NAMA 2016, we look forward to continued innovation and growth within the marketplace.”

Mr. Wittern cares deeply for the vending industry as well the community, which is evident by his founding of The Wittern Family Foundation that supports various non-profit organizations including NAMA, the Mayo Clinic, and United Way among many other organizations.  Mr. Wittern also founded The Wittern Family Scholarship Foundation which provides post-secondary financial assistance to children of The Wittern Group employees.