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Keurig Discontinues KOLD, Offers Full Refunds ▶ Keurig Green Mountain is discontinuing its KOLD soda machine and offering customers refunds for the full purchase price after less than one year on the market. The com- pany launched the KOLD system last September, allowing con- sumers to make cold sparkling and still beverages (from brands like The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper Snapple Group) at home or in the offce at the push of a button. Production of KOLD pods will cease, with existing pod inventory being sold at a discounted price on Keurig.com. In a statement, Coca- Cola said, "Our partnership with Keurig on the KOLD platform has provided a great opportunity for innovat- ing and learning about new technologies that can deliver our beverages to consumers. Through it, we've gained valuable insights into what people want and expect from an in-home, single-serve cold beverage system. We will apply those learnings as we continue to explore innovation that will enable people to enjoy our brands in new ways." Vengo Labs Expands On College Campuses ▶ Vengo Labs announced its partnership with The Blackstone Charitable Foundation's entrepreneur- ship-focused experiential campus program, Black- stone LaunchPad, to intro- duce Vengo kiosks to some of the largest universities in the U.S. By late summer, Black- stone LaunchPad locations including New York Univer- sity, Syracuse University, University of Southern Cali- fornia, and University of Cen- tral Florida, will install Vengo machines for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year. These kiosks will feature products from other Black- stone LaunchPad alumni, and will circulate Blackstone LaunchPad-specifc content on the digital screens. "It's been wonderful to see the rapid growth of Vengo Labs, a Blackstone Launch- Pad venture, and we're excited to leverage our global network to accelerate its growth, while also providing additional value to our other student entrepreneurs," says Amy Stursberg, Executive Director, Blackstone Chari- table Foundation. "The cam- puses that will be exposed to Vengo will serve as a testing ground for future product expansion across campuses in the U.S. and beyond." NAMA Foundation Calls For Applications ▶ The NAMA Foundation announced that the 2016 NAMA Scholars Program will award three scholarships to NAMA members to attend the Executive Development Program (EDP) at Michigan State University Oct. 23 to 27, 2016. Applicants must be a full-time employee of a NAMA member company in good standing. Applicants must currently hold a posi- tion of senior-level manager or higher and preferably have been involved in the conve- nience services industry for 5 or more years and provide a letter of recommendation from his/her manager. People in the News Industry Mourns Passing Of Dale Dardis, 66 Dale J. Dardis, owner/operator of SGRC and Halo Vending, passed away at the age of 66. Dardis was born on July 22, 1949 in Cleveland and passed away suddenly on May 7, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. Hershey Names Michele Buck Chief Operating Offcer The Hershey Co. announced that Michele Buck has been named executive vice presi- dent, chief operating offcer, effective imme- diately. Buck brings more than 25 years of consumer packaged goods experience to this new executive role. She will continue to lead Hershey's day-to-day North American operations and now will oversee Hershey's operations in Central and South America. Former PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico Dies Roger Enrico, former CEO of PepsiCo, has died at the age of 71. Enrico, who spent more than 30 years at the company, was the only PepsiCo CEO to serve as CEO of all three major arms of the business. According to the company, in his career Enrico completed the purchase of Tropicana and acquired Quaker Oats, beating out Coca-Cola. He also oversaw the spinoff of the restaurant division. Dan Ehlen Joins AVS Sales Team American Vending Sales (AVS) announced that Dan Ehlen will be the director of sales, vending for the northern territory. Ehlen will be handling sales in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota. His vending experience includes 28 years with Crane Merchan- dising Systems/National Vendors as an account executive selling their full line of products. Robert AbouJaoude Joins Betson Enterprises As Senior Account Executive Betson Enterprises announces Robert AbouJaoude has joined the company as senior account execu- tive for Betson Imperial Parts & Service division. AbouJaoude brings more than 17 years of sales, marketing and customer service experience to the organization. He previously worked for Crane Pay- ment Innovation (formerly MEI). Dardis Buck Ehlen June/July 2016 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 11 T O P N E W S