2008 IDEAS Conference Best Concept Award Winners

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE. Horizon House Continuing Care Retirement Center, for The Neighborhood Kitchens, which helps seniors get to know diet aides and get the right nutrition. L-R: Lou Lorton, John Lawn.

BEST NEW FACILITY. Becton Dickinson & Co., for its dining facility at its new corporate center in Franklin Lakes, NJ, which brings together employees from two different buildings. L-R: Heidi Deboer, Elizabeth Fichtel, John Lawn.

BEST OF SHOW. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst, for overall excellence in its campus dining program and for segment-wide contributions to culinary development. L-R: Ken Toong, Willie Sng, Victor Keedy, John Lawn.

BEST RENOVATION. Purdue University, for Union Commons, a re-designed student union that boasts six retail restaurants, organic ingredients and more. L-R: Tom Coleman, John Lawn.

BEST SPECIAL EVENT. Virginia Tech University, for Medieval Fest and Faire, an event with ambitious details, authentic ingredients, and a dragon. L-R: Ted Faulkner, Robert Coffey, Rick Johnson, John Lawn

BEST STATION/UNIT CONCEPT. Sodexo Campus Services at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, for MyZone, an area for students with food-related allergies and special diet needs. L-R: John Fusco, Jackie Baldwin, John Lawn.

BEST WELLNESS INITIATIVE. Whitsons, for Nutrition Safari, a K-12 school foodservice program focusing on introducing younger students to food groups with animal characters. L-R: Doug Whitcomb, Holly Von Seggern, John Lawn.