Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award

Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award Presented

JAMES H. SIKES
VENDORS SUPPLY INC.

The Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the vending industry over a lifetime of dedicated service.  This award was established to honor Barbara W. Short, who served as convention director and director emeritus for the Carolinas-Virginia Vending Convention and Exhibit and the Atlantic Coast Exposition for 25 years before her retirement in 1996, building this event from a small one-state gathering to a trade show and convention of prominence.  Short was also the first recipient of the award in 1999.  The award has subsequently been bestowed on Donald Ray Head, posthumously, in 2000; Ben Ginsberg in 2001; J. Shields Harvey in 2004; Jon P. Brady in 2005; Ralph H. Kiser in 2006 and A. Eugene Rountree in 2008.
  

This year’s recipient attended the University of South Carolina prior to being called to serve his country during the Korean War.  Upon discharge from the US Marine Corp., this year’s recipient began his career in the food service industry in a bakery.  Always on the lookout for better and more efficient ways to deliver product to the end-user, he realized that many of his customers were small to mid-size vending operations and that these companies could be well served with one-stop shopping for all their product purchases.  With that concept in mind, Vendors Supply of Columbia, SC, was born in 1964 and since that auspicious beginning additional operations have been built in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Ohio.
  

The identity of our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is no longer a secret.  Jim Sikes is an industry icon and responsible for the success of many vending operators in this room.  But not only is he steeped in the success of the vending industry, he also has served his community in numerous civic organizations, including the Lions Club, served on the Board of Directors for Columbia College and as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at his church. 
  

Many charitable entities have been the beneficiary of his generosity through the years, most specifically the Carolina Children’s Home to which he has made numerous donations.
  

His accomplishments as a business owner and benefactor have been recognized by Ernst and Young who named him Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996 and invited him to serve as a distinguished judge the following year.  Vendors Supply has been designated one of South Carolina’s Top 100 privately owned companies for several consecutive years.
  

Not only have South Carolina community and philanthropic organizations benefitted from the generosity of Jim Sikes and Vendors Supply, the vending associations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have also received generous sponsorships and support from Vendors Supply for many years.  Never has Mr. Sikes turned down a call for help.  Whether it is for an individual, an association or in support of ACE, he has stepped up with dollars and a sense of responsibility to support the industry that has supported him through the years.  Not only has he given of himself, but he also has encouraged his employees to participate as board and committee members serving the three vending associations and ACE.  He was named North Carolina Vending Association’s Supplier of the Year for 2000.                
  

Mr. Sikes credits his success to God, his family, his health, his dedicated employees and loyal customers.  He has been married for 55 years to his wife, Greta, and has two sons and a daughter.
  

Please join me in honoring Jim Sikes, president and owner of Vendors Supply Inc. in Columbia, South Carolina, with the Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more information, please call 877.831.3824, write ACE, P.O. Box 3159, Durham, NC 27715 or e-mail info@atlanticcoastexpo.com.

Visit this Web site again in August for preliminary information on the event scheduled for the new show, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.