Rick Brindle, v.p. of industry development, Mondelēz International; Joe Dutra, ceo of Kimmie Candy; and Tony Jacobs, president of Topps Confectionery Brands, were also nominated for the award.

Holding the gleaming copper kettle, a still-shocked Cohen pointed to the confectionery industry’s history of strong leadership and service. Furthermore, confectionery industry leaders and members of Candy Industry’s Kettle Award Committee reflect on the meaning of the annual award.

Candy Industry Magazine’s founder and publisher, Don Gussow, established the Kettle Award in 1946. As he explained to readers then, the Kettle Award was meant as “recognition of the contribution for ‘great or good’ of the industry, not only on the part of the person selected for the distinction, but of every member of the confectionery field who has devoted himself in whatever measure to make the business of candy making and selling a more profitable and happier one.”