IGA closed out its Centennial Global Rally with the IGA Centennial Awards of Excellence Gala, held Sept. 19 at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, honoring the retailers, distribution partners and industry leaders who represent a century of independent grocery excellence across the global IGA network.
IGA Chairman Mark Batenic and President and CEO John Ross hosted the celebration, recognizing retailers from nine countries as the alliance marks its 100th year.
Mack McLamb of Carlie C’s IGA in Louisburg, North Carolina, was named the 2026 IGA USA International Retailer of the Year, the evening’s top U.S. honor.
J. Frank Grimes Award goes to 2 recipients
For the first time, IGA’s highest honor – the J. Frank Grimes Award – went to two recipients.
Michael Bozzuto, chairman, president and CEO of Bozzuto’s Inc., was recognized for leadership of the family-owned wholesaler, an IGA partner since 1970, and for founding the Dream Ride Experience benefiting Special Olympics in 2000. His father received the award in 1992, making them the only father-son pair to earn the honor.
Dr. Paulo Goelzer, who joined IGA in 1994 and founded the IGA Coca-Cola Institute in 2004, was honored for building the corporate university into an institution that has trained more than 10,000 retail businesses worldwide. Goelzer stepped down as the institute’s president earlier this year after more than three decades.
The Thomas S. Haggai Spirit of IGA Award went to Fred Harrison, CEO of Ritchies, Australia’s largest independent supermarket group, with more than 90 stores and $1.5 billion in annual turnover.
Jad Pereira, CEO of Unitrade Management Services, received an honorary International Retailer of the Year jacket for bringing the IGA brand back to South Africa.
US Retailers of the Year
Nine U.S. retailers, nominated by IGA’s licensed wholesalers as the best among the alliance’s 3,600 U.S. stores, were celebrated as 2026 IGA USA Retailers of the Year, each with a specialty award:
- Russ and Stephanie Burkholder, Burkholder’s Country Market, Spring Mills, Pennsylvania: Local Equals Fresh Award (Bozzuto’s Inc.)
- Ricky Dow, KJ’s Market, Lake City, South Carolina: Empowerment & Inspiration Award (W. Lee Flowers)
- Kevin and Nicholas Bohman, Pride Family Market, Hanover, Indiana: Pathfinder Award (Winkler Wholesale Grocers)
- Kelly Gutzwiller and Daren Wood, Versailles, Indiana: Ricky St. John Taking Care of People Award (Associated Wholesale Grocers)
- Matt Ladnier, Piggly Wiggly, Wiggins, Mississippi: Team Building Award (Houchens Food Group)
- Brian McGregor, Archie’s IGA, St. Mary’s, Idaho: Mark Batenic Driving Value Award (UNFI)
- Jennifer and Tim Bosma, Harvest Market IGA, Fort Bragg, California: People & Planet Stewardship Award (C&S Wholesale Grocers)
- Mack McLamb, Carlie C’s IGA, Louisburg, North Carolina: NRAB Chairman Excellence in Leadership Award (MDI)
- Jacob and Jason Linnes, Orcas Island Market, Eastsound, Washington: Archie McGregor Quality Without Compromise Award (J.B. Gottstein)
International winners, Red Oval honors
International Retailers of the Year, each already named Retailer of the Year in their home country, came from Canada, Grenada, the Philippines, South Africa, Ireland and Australia, including Bob Hoy of IGA Gibsons in British Columbia and the Romeo family of Romeo’s Foodland IGA Royal Park in Adelaide. Ireland’s two winning Centra teams marked the first Retailer of the Year honors for a store supported by wholesaler Musgrave, which joined the alliance in 2025.
AppCard was named Red Oval Service Provider of the Year and The Clorox Company Red Oval CPG of the Year.
The gala capped a multi-day rally that included a Sept. 18 business session at Coca-Cola headquarters themed “The Future Consumer Is Our Consumer,” featuring Ross’ State of IGA address, trend presentations from Deloitte and McKinsey & Company, and a panel on the future of independent retail.
Rally sponsors
The IGA Centennial Global Rally was sponsored by Coca-Cola (diamond sponsor); ScanApps (gold sponsor); AppCard, BRdata, Dumac Business Systems, ECRS and LOC Software (silver sponsors); and bronze sponsors Aussie Beef & Lamb, The Clorox Company, Flipp, Houchens Insurance Group, Instacart, Kimberly-Clark, National Pork Board, Nestlé Purina, NielsenIQ and Watermelon Board.
Founded in 1926, IGA is the world’s largest voluntary supermarket network, with more than 7,500 stores in 46 states and more than 25 countries and aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $43 billion annually.