Announcements
Do you have any announcements that you would like to share with the NICA membership? Contact us today!
Register & Make Your Reservations for 2026
Join us February 9-11, 2026 at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, located at 10221 Princess Palm Ave. Tampa, FL, for the 2026 NICA Business Expo and Fare Foods Food Show, where we will be "Making Connections!"
The NICA Business Expo will provide Educational Sessions, Workshops, and Discussion Groups that cover important topics and solutions to the challenges our Industry is faced with every day. The Fare Foods Food Show will feature both new and returning exhibitors showcasing the latest food trends and technology that will define and kickstart the 2026 Fair Season. We also invite you to attend the Annual General Membership Meeting, where we will hold our Year in Review, install the 2026 Board of Directors, hold the Coca-Cola Membership Contest, and hear from Benefit Partners. Afterwards, during the Annual Gala Celebration, we will highlight the NICA Foundation, honor a new Hall of Fame Recipient, and enjoy a delicious buffet courtesy of Fare Foods.
Registration is now open to all attendees! Stay tuned to NICA and Fare Foods communications for important announcements and programming information, coming soon.
Due to an overwhelming response, the Hotel Room Block is sold out for Monday & Tuesday (February 9th & 10th). Feel free to complete the Hotel Information Form and send it to apoole@farefoods.com to be on the wait list. You will be contacted in the order received as rooms become available.
NICA Director Election Results Announced
Thank you to all those who voted in this year's election! All qualifying votes were received by the December 15th deadline, and the results are official.
The Director Elects are: Bary Bunts, CCE, The Apple Cart; Ryan Collmer, Meatball Factory; and Vincent Nelson, CCE, Vinnie’s Fine Foods. Each newly elected Board Member will start their term beginning in February 2025. We are grateful for all Voting Members and Board Candidates for their participation in this year’s election. "Together We Can!" Read more about them on our Director Elections website and in the December Issue of NICA News.
2025 NICA Foundation Scholarship Recipients Have Been Selected
The NICA Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of the 2025 NICA Scholarship Recipients. After a thorough, confidential, and anonymous review of the many applications received, the NICA Foundation is proud to award 33 Scholarships (up from 31), for a total of $64,000 (an increase of $12,000), to our commendable recipients this year. No recipient received less than $1,000!
After speaking with the Scholarship Recipients this past week, Audrey Poole, NICA Foundation President, said, “No one knows the full impact that these scholarships have on our Industry's young people! I just love those stories! If you haven't donated to the Scholarship Program yet, I encourage you to please consider becoming a donor. The impact you can have in the lives of these students is more than you imagine!”
Congratulations to our 33 Recipients:
25th Anniversary Scholarship – Ashton Giordano
Marcus Family Scholarship – Lillie Brander
Coca-Cola CCE Scholarship – James MacPherson
Regional Councils' Scholarship – Taylor Coffman
Leadership Scholarship – Eva Tutak
Chuck Dugan's Chuckwagon Scholarship – Trevor Molnar
Berk Brands Visionary Scholarship – Carmela Palmieri
Evelyn Deggeller Visionary Scholarship – Emma Rhoden
Fare Foods Visionary Scholarship – Kane Clendenen
Linda Frisco Memorial Visionary Scholarship – Matilda Tan
Jessica Gottsche Memorial Visionary Scholarship – Will Miller
Tom Hodson, CCE Memorial Visionary Scholarship – Louis DeMedici
Alys Huffman Memorial Visionary Scholarship – Cynthia Espinoza
Hummel Group Visionary Scholarship – Ashton Coffman
Masonic Band of Brothers Visionary Scholarship – Katie Schulz
McConnell Family Visionary Scholarship – Nadia Hoffman
Mellowship Entertainment Visionary Scholarship – Lilly Underberg
Tom Moore Memorial Visionary Scholarship – Gianna Palmieri
Pittroff & Barona Family Visionary Scholarship – Yasameen Afshar
Norma Jean & Edgar Sivori Visionary Scholarship – Kalista Kastl
Spaghetti Eddie Family Visionary Scholarship – Ella Brick
O'Brien Vocational Scholarships – Kale Baker and Tobias Bellrichard
Entrepreneurial Scholarships – Skylar Bilderback, Devin Coffman, Adeline Garzanelli, Tate Hinkemeyer, Johanna Kunz, Emelia Lynn, Jackson McCuin, Jillian Monahan, Maelee Pilant, and Ella Underberg
Thank You to Our 2025 Scholarship Donors:
- Reilly Berk, Berk Brands
- Coca-Cola
- Todd Desgranges, Stuart Confections
- Nathan Marcus, West Coast Weenies
- James and Larry McConnell, CCE, McConnell Concessions
- Laura and Ron Porter, Fare Foods
- Phil Teague, Hummel Group
- John Juliano, CFE, Mellowship Entertainment
- Rey O’Day, NICA Executive Director
- The Pittroff and Barona Family, Giant Ride and The Original Australian Battered Potatoes
- Audrey Poole, NICA Foundation President
- Eddie Porcelli, Spaghetti Eddie
- Larry Sivori, Sivori Catering
- The Ben Franklin Club
- "A Band of Brothers," including Pat Armstrong, Cornbelt Concessions; Ray Bianco, Bianco’s Foods; Richie George, CCE, George’s Fun Foods; Rusty Groscurth, Super Dog; Tom Hodson, CCE, The Thomas Hodson Company; Butch Ivory, CCE, Famous Gabby’s; Michael and Shawn Miller, Miller Foods; Ronnie Netterfield, Netterfields Popcorn and Lemonade; Ron Smith, RE Smith; and Larry Wynn, East Coast Concessions.
The additional fundraising efforts of the NICA Foundation Board of Trustees, NICA Past Presidents and Board of Directors, the NICA Regional Councils, and the NICA Membership help to ensure this program truly makes a difference for our recipients. Thanks to you, our future is "Shining Bright!"
Applications for the 2026 Scholarship Program will be available in early Spring 2026.
Join the Conversation with NICA Live!
We have launched our brand new Facebook Group, NICA Live! and want to invite you to join us. NICA Live! is a public group for our members and for supporters of the industry to share their voices and be heard.
Are you looking for extra help for an event? Have a question about equipment? Looking at a new event to add to your route? Ask our group members for advice, and start a conversation! You can join the Group by searching NICA Live! on Facebook or by selecting the link below: