September_2021 - 18

THE FIRST ANNUAL
AWARDS
Bradley Bell
Bradley Bell, director of training
and development of Five Star Food
Service in Chattanooga, TN, is
described as the Energizer Bunny
of Five Star. His outlook on life and
the passion he pours into his work is
contagious and inspiring. He brings a unique perspective
to the workplace that no one else on the Five Star team
brings. In three short years, Bell has quickly risen to
become a star within the organization with his drive
for adding value to the company. Starting in retail
operations as a project manager, Bell was recently
promoted to his current position. He is a major cog in
transforming Five Star into the retail-focused business
it has become. His efforts are helping Five Star meet the
growing expectations of clients.
Christopher Betti
Christopher Betti does whatever it
takes to help his valued customers
run and grow profitable businesses.
As director of vending & OCS sales at
Betson, he is involved in all aspects of
the business. Not only is he committed to
Betson and his customers, but he is also committed
to the growth of the industry as a whole. He is a longstanding
member of NAMA and many other state
associations. He participates in local and national lobby
efforts supporting the industry at large. Betti received
his bachelor's degree from St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Melissa Brown
Melissa Brown is described as the
epitome of a self-made professional
and well-rounded person. In 2012
while on a mission trip in Nicaragua,
Brown visited coffee farms and was
inspired to pursue a career in coffee.
Beginning with campus coffee carts, she soon began
roasting coffee and founded an OCS operation in North
Carolina under the Well-Bean name. Focusing on high
quality bean-to-cup systems, Brown built a multi-route
operation, selling the routes in 2019 to Canteen. WellBean
continues to build its customer base with a focus
on roasting craft coffees for bean to cup and selling to
OCS operators and distributors. Before marrying her
husband, Brown found success as a personal trainer,
competing in fitness events.
18 Automatic Merchandiser * September 2021
Jennifer Calderon
Jennifer Calderon is the director of
business development and a thirdgeneration
vendor at J&J Vending
Inc. in Union City, CA. Her enthusiasm
for the industry is shown in the great
ideas she brings to the company. Like
many operators in the industry, J&J Vending lost a lot
of customers when the pandemic closed businesses in
March 2020. At the time, pantry service was a large
part of J&J's revenue stream and it dried up within 72
hours. Calderon came up with Oh Goodie! snack boxes,
a nationwide snack box delivery service. She reached
out to the company's pantry customers and J&J
Vending started sending boxes across America. She
is admired for always trying to help out the small and
family-owned companies.
Chris Campione
As vice president of sales and
marketing at Servomation
Refreshments Inc., Chris Campione
has been an incredible asset to
the organization, streamlining
and modernizing both the sales and
marketing departments. He has worked to develop and
implement tools within each department that have
had tremendous impact on the business development
and client retention processes, including a new sales
asset management platform that allows both sales and
operations departments to access the most up-todate
marketing collateral from one centralized web and
smartphone app. The organization has been able to
communicate its latest features at a drastically quicker
pace than before this system was implemented.
Leah Casanova
Leah Casanova, director of sales and
marketing at National Coffee, has
been committed to the company,
her customers, her colleagues and
the OCS/AFH industry for more than
eight years. Her consistent customercentric
approach and strategic agility has continuously
added value to her customers' businesses as well as her
own. Described as, " the hardest working person we have
in our company, " Casanova champions new products
and processes that continue to make National Coffee
successful. She is caring and focused on developing and
supporting her coworkers. One colleague described, " I
wouldn't be where I am without the help from Leah. She's
dedicated to the success of myself, our enterprise, and
the industry as a whole. "
September_2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September_2021
