Distinguished Alumni Award
2020 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient Lenny Freund
How many of us can point to a simple activity we did as children that transformed into a career, a family business and successful life? Lenny Freund, State Fair Community College’s 2020 Distinguished Alumni recipient, can do just that. Not only did SFCC have an impact on Freund’s formative years but also laid the educational foundation for a career that began in the Roadrunner concession stand. “When I was in grade school, my parents took us to a Roadrunner basketball game,” Freund reflected. “Just before the halftime, Keith Hoskins (son of Booster Club member Bob Hoskins) asked me if I wanted to help at the concessions stand, serving sodas and popcorn. For the next 7 or 8 years, I don't think that I missed a game. Even though I was a volunteer, I just loved the environment and the people. Little did I know at the time that I would be around the food concession business for the rest of my life.”
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Freund was born in Sedalia, the youngest of four siblings. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School and later earned an Associate of Arts degree in 1980 from SFCC. He transferred to Central Missouri State University, now named University of Central Missouri, and while there he accepted an offer to be a food service operations manager at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. That decision set the course for Freund to become a successful and respected entrepreneur with 40 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Freund spent 10 years with Six Flags Theme Parks holding various positions including, director of revenue, vice president and general manager at different locations. For several years, Freund worked at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels, Texas.
Fall 2020
12/22/2020 2:26:00 PM
