Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award

Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award Presented

Ralph Kiser wase presented with the Barbara W. Short Lifetime Achievement Award at the Awards Breakfast, Saturday, May 6. 

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 state gathering to a trade show and convention of national 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 and Jon P. Brady in 2005. As if the fact that he took his one-man operation to a 90+ employee company weren’t enough proof of Kiser’s dedication, check out the roster of high-profile industry awards he has won along the way. Ralph Kiser is not only a VAMA and NCVA legend, but role model for the vending and food service industry as a whole.

At the age of 21, while attending Concord College, Kiser began his vending career with four coffee vending machines his father had purchased in 1956. Four years later, “Kwik Kafe” branched out to sell cold drinks, and in 1964, they went to a complete line of vending. Today, the company has over 90 employees, 25 routes and two locations.

Kiser joined the Virginia Automatic Merchandising Association (VAMA) over 25 years ago, and has attended ACE every year since. He gladly worked his way though the board of directors, serving as VAMA’s president in 1984. In addition to being named VAMA’s Vendor of the Year in both 1981 and 1996, Kiser is the only person from out of state to win North Carolina Vending Association’s celebrated

“Distinguished Service Award,” which he happily accepted in 1992 for his many years of work on the cup coalition. Another of Kiser’s accomplishments include being named to the National Beverage Product Association’s Hall of Fame in 1997. He has always relied on the association to serve as a platform to fight any legislation deemed harmful to the industry (including crown sales and sales tax hikes).

Kiser was born in North Carolina and graduated from Graham High School in 1952. Two years later, he married his wife, Shirley, and joined the army where he was stationed in Germany for about two years. Upon his return, he attended Concord College. Today, Ralph and Shirley have three children and five grandchildren, many of whom work full time or part time at Kwik Kafe.

Kiser is very active at the local church he and his family have attended for 60 years. He served as a deacon, and for more than 36 years, he has chaired many committees and boards in conjunction with his church’s state and regional associations. He is also on the Union Mission’s Board of Directors, which is a local nonprofit organization that helps families in need.

Kiser has always remained focused on a belief in service and integrity. His commitment to vending on both state and national levels has made him one of the industry’s outstanding leaders.
His name will be added to the perpetual plaque that is housed in the offices of the Atlantic Coast Exposition and he was given a personal award for his own display

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.