Regular Rates end Friday night, February 6th!
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2026 Awards Program
It’s once again time to celebrate the best of the best at the 2026 Catersource ACE and Special Events Gala awards! Join in the excitement and the spirit of our industry as we celebrate the hard work and exceptional accomplishments of our peers.
ACE & Gala Awards
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 3:30pm
General Session Stage
Achievement in Catered Events (ACE) Awards
The Catersource Achievement in Catering Excellence (ACE) Award recognizes companies that have shown noteworthy achievement in the catering industry through culinary, business, community and professional development.
GALA Awards
The Gala Awards competition honors outstanding work in special events worldwide.
Special Events Gala Lifetime Achievement Award
The Special Events Gala Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented since 1986 and is the gold standard for those with robust careers in the events industry. Prior recent winners include Lenny Talarico, Connie Riley, Patti Shock, Sally Webb Barry, Michael Cerbelli, Rob Barber, & Scott Frankel.
The 2026 Special Events Gala Lifetime Achievement Award goes to...
David Merrell
CEO & Creative Director
AOO Events
Michael Roman Lifetime Achievement Award
The Michael Roman Lifetime Achievement Award is named for the founder of Catersource, a person who uplifted others and whose vision, approachability, and passion for catering made him a dynamic force. Prior recent winners include Rosemary Kowalski, Roy Porter, Lon Lane, Lee Epting, Warren Dietel, Mary Craft, and Tom McDowell.
The 2026 Michael Roman Lifetime Achievement Award goes to...
Meryl Snow
Richard Carbotti Gala Award
The Richard Carbotti Gala Award recognizes those individuals who embody Richard’s longtime commitment to volunteerism. Recent prior winners include Kelly Murphy, Robin Selden, Larry Green, Susie Perelman, Kate Patay, World Central Kitchen, and Corinne Z. Dudine.
The 2026 Richard Carbotti Gala Award goes to...
Kari Strolberg, CSEP
Partner
Detail + Design
Awards Chair - Scott Frankel
Scott Frankel is the President of Animatic Media, an industry leader in event production and sought-after speaker at industry events. Animatic is a full-service event production company founded with the idea of offering agency-style service without the agency price tag. Since 1996, Scott and his team have produced events for clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 conferences with thousands of attendees to smaller road shows and events. Scott is an innovator in the event technology space and insists on perfection and flawless execution for all of his events. In 2020 Animatic Media relaunched their on-demand web service as Conference-On-Demand +LIVE, a full-service virtual/hybrid event platform for fully “produced” virtual events and will soon be introducing an Augmented Reality offering built for the live events industry.