Pepsi-Cola distributor Pendleton Bottling Company was recognized as a finalist for a national company award.

The distribution center, a franchise within Pepsi’s Idaho Beverages company, is one of three finalists for the Donald M. Kendall Bottler of the Year Award. It is the highest honor for independent franchise bottlers in Pepsi’s bottling system, according to Mario Mercurio, Senior Vice President of Pepsi’s franchise business unit.

Pemdleton Bottling Company, located at 4480 Westgate Drive, is the official Pepsi distributor of Morrow, Umatilla and Grant counties. In addition to Pepsi products, they also offer full-line vending, five-gallon water and coffee services. Pendleton Bottling Company has never won, let alone been nominated, for an accolade of this level since the franchise’s establishment in 1982, said Dan Winters, general manager at the facility.

In a letter to Idaho Beverages President Gary Prasil, Mercurio noted that Pendleton Bottling Company met most criteria for the award.

“By nearly any measure — volume and share growth, per capita consumption, product quality, customer service and community involvement — your Pendleton franchise delivered outstanding results,” Mercurio wrote.

As a finalist, Pendleton Bottling Company received money to give to a non-profit of their choosing. They donated $5,000 to Nixyaawii Community School to put towards a computer lab. Winters said the franchise also donates products and banners to local businesses, and volunteers at youth sporting events. They also sponsor several fun runs in the area.

The other two finalists are Pepsi Bottling Ventures from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Buffalo Rock Company out of Newnan, Georgia. Winters said the Pendleton franchise has 42 employees, which is a much smaller team than the approximately 2,000 people employed by each of the other two finalists.

“It means a lot that we even showed up on somebody’s radar because we’re so small in comparison to the other two finalists … employing over 2,000 employees,” he said. “It’s really neat that our efforts here locally have been noticed on a nationwide scale.”

Pepsi will announce the winner of the award Sept. 13 at its national bottler meeting in Nashville.

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Contact Will Denner at wdenner@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0809