Jon Lewis receives NACUFS’ 48th annual Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award

With decades in college and university foodservice and six campuses across the country under his belt, people often ask Ball State University Director of Campus Dining Services Jon Lewis: Which one did you like the best?

“I’ve put down roots in a lot of places, and I’ve loved them all,” Lewis said Wednesday evening while accepting the 48th Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award at the National Association of College & University Food Services’ 2015 National Conference in Indianapolis.

But through it all, Lewis’ roots have been in NACUFS. While he didn’t become a member until 1987, his first experience with the organization came during a foodservice management internship that landed him at the University of Michigan. Since then, at least seven of Lewis’ former staff members have gone on to become foodservice directors themselves, said University of Montana Dining Director Mark LoParco, who presented the award, which honor one NACUFS member annually for his or her “exemplary contributions” to the organization and the foodservice industry.

LoParco cited Lewis’ career as a series of firsts in C&U foodservice: He was one of the first operators to implement a computer-based food-management system; one of the first to convince off-campus restaurants to accept a school-meal plan; one of the first to implement the marketplace concept; and one of the first to bring Taco Bell to campus. (Students love Taco Bell.)

Earlier in the evening, outgoing NACUFS President Zia Ahmed, senior director for dining services at The Ohio State University, thanked attendees—especially the 250 first-timers—for bringing their ideas to Indianapolis. His own path to leadership, Ahmed said, began at NACUFS, where a more-senior member offered a “simple spark of encouragement” that pushed him to get involved.

“As a seasoned member, you should understand the shadow you cast influences others,” said Ahmed, whose campus is opening, among others, a 900-seat all-you-can-eat dining hall, a 300-seat retail operation, a coffee shop with direct-trade products only and a marketplace in four weeks.