2025 Annual Conference

The Utah Food Industry Association hosted its Annual Conference and Celebration on August 6th at the Davis County Conference Center. During the event the association inducted Dave Hancock, recently retired General Counsel for Maverik into the industry’s Hall of Fame. The association also recognized the Utah Medicaid Pharmacy Team with the industry’s Impact Award, for their partnership during the 2024 PBM outage that lasted for nearly two months.

Utah Food Industry Association 2025 Hall of Fame Honoree

DAVE HANCOCK - Maverik

David graduated from Brigham Young University with his B.S. in accounting and with a Master of Accountancy and Finance.  After working in the private sector as a CPA David returned to BYU and graduated with honors from the J. Reuben Clark Law School where he served as a Law Review editor. 

David worked with some of the largest law firms in Utah where he specialized in business and environmental law for companies in the energy and manufacturing sector.  He also had a love of marketing and advertising and advised clients in these areas as well.  David started working with Maverik leadership in the late 1990’s in developing a new branding campaign for the company, which eventually lead to the company’s transformation to “Adventure’s First Stop.” 

Over the years David continued to assist Maverik with legal and marketing matters as their outside legal counsel.  In 2012, he joined Maverik’s executive team as Vice President and General Counsel.  He is grateful to have been able to work with Maverik during a period of significant growth. During David’s career Maverik has grown to over 800 stores operating in 20 states.

After over 30 years of service, David retired from Maverik in 2024.  His greatest experiences at Maverik have been working with so many outstanding team members and friends.  David’s greatest joy has been seeing the growth of his co-workers, assisting with their development and providing opportunities for their success.

David loves Utah and the intermountain area. He has completed many marathons and half marathons with friends and family and participated with the Maverik Ragnar team.  He also enjoys golfing, skiing, hiking, and trail running throughout Utah’s beautiful mountains, canyons and deserts. David has dedicated many years of service to his community and has served in several leadership positions with his church. David and his wife Colleen have six children and one grandson, which provide the real joy and focus of their lives.

Utah Food Industry Association 2025 Impact Award Honoree

UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

MEDICAID - Pharmacy Team

Utah Medicaid provides coverage for health care, pharmacy, behavioral health, and dental services for more than 350,000 Utahns every month. In Utah, Medicaid covers 1 in 6 children and approximately 17% of all births. Utah's Medicaid is a $5.3 billion program, which pays for providers and services that support qualified individuals and families.

Pharmacy benefits, dispensed by Utah pharmacy retailers, are an important part of the Medicaid program. Utah pharmacies and Utah Medicaid have partnered in delivering these lifesaving and life altering drugs to Utahns from Logan to St. George. In 2024, a Utah Medicaid contractor experienced a cyber-attack that brought an instant halt to processing Medicaid prescription benefits. Utah Medicaid pharmacy staff immediately engaged with Utah pharmacy retailers to develop a plan to address this crisis. Over the course of many weeks Medicaid staff and pharmacy retailers met daily and worked together to ensure Medicaid patients were able to access their prescription drugs. It took creative thinking and a “leap of faith” by both Medicaid and Utah pharmacies to get back to the important business of dispensing these lifesaving medications to Utah’s most vulnerable population.

Conference Speakers

RENAE COWLEY / FRANK PIGNANELLI - Foxley & Pignanelli

Keynote - Utah Political Panel

Renae and Frank took our members for a wild ride through Utah’s political landscape. Association President Dave Davis moderated a political crossfire discussion with two of Utah’s foremost political insiders and Deseret News columnists. Frank Pignanelli came at the issues from the left side of the political spectrum while Renae Cowley gave us a view from the right. This keynote session provided important insights into Utah politics in a way that was both educational and entertaining.

PHIL DEAN - Chief Economist and Public Finance Senior Research Fellow - Kem Gardner Institute

MADDY ORITT - Senior Public Finance Economist - Kem Gardner Institute

An Economy in Transition

In this session, Utah based economists, Phil Dean and Maddy Oritt, did a deep dive into the state of the Utah economy. They provided incredible insights, backed by data, to help attendees see and understand what drives the economy with the best “economic outlook” in the nation.