OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Dennis Gunnell, president of Formost Fuji, earned BEMA’s Fred Springer Lifetime Achievement Award. 

“This award comes as a surprise and a great honor,” Gunnell said. “It is recognition of a lot of work, a symbol of 40 years of building relationships, making progress and putting myself out there for the industry.” 

Began in 2001, the Lifetime Achievement Award honors those who have gone above and beyond in their contributions to the baking industry throughout their career.

Gunnell’s industry journey began in 1986 with an inside sales role at Everett, Wash.-based Formost Fuji, which he took after turning down a programmer role at Microsoft. He would climb the ranks at Formost Fuji over the years, eventually becoming company president in 2019. 

Gunnell has also served in other prominent industry roles, including on the board of directors for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) and as IBIE 2022 chairman, as well as on the BEMA board of directors. 

“You never know where the path of service might lead or how it might create an opportunity for you or someone else,” he said. “Service is another way of contributing to the next generation, assisting them as they grow in their careers and in their BEMA life.”

Gunnell’s openness to opportunity and dislike of the status quo led him to always look for ways to better himself. He was both a collegiate and professional athlete, establishing a strong work ethic that contributed to his professional success, BEMA stated.

“You need to keep improving and refining and sometimes it’s hard to look at ourselves in this way,” Gunnell said. “In sports, game day is just a small part of it, the rest of the week you’re always looking for ways to get better.”

Gunnell will be recognized with the award at BEMA Convention 2025, held June 25-28 in Coco Beach, Puerto Rico.