Coca-Cola UNITED’s Cleveland, Tennessee Production Center and Atlanta Division are the winners of the 2026 Claude Nielsen Award for Excellence, the company’s highest honor recognizing associates who embrace the company’s mission, purpose and values.
The awards were announced during a dinner and ceremony held March 4 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Cleveland Production Plant Manager Tim Griffith, Operations Manager Travis Moses, Engineering Manager Joby Pierce and Warehouse Manager Dallas Skoretz were present to accept the coveted trophy designed by metal artists at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham.
Cleveland Production competed against two other production teams for the award – Baton Rouge, Louisiana Production and College Park, Georgia Production.
“Thank you to the executive leadership, thank you to the judges and most importantly thank you to the 220 amazing associates back home in East Tennessee. The Claude’s coming home to Cleveland,” Moses said in his acceptance remarks.
Accepting the trophy for the Atlanta Division were Division Vice President Victor Ragland, Sales Center Manager Chris Arkwood, Special Projects Manager Bujar Bakalli, Office Manager Stephanie Bateman and Warehouse Operations Manager Michael Friend. The Atlanta Division is comprised of 1,700 associates across five sales centers in Georgia – Athens, Atlanta North Metro, Atlanta South Metro, Gainesville and Lawrenceville.
The Atlanta Division, winners of the award for the second consecutive year, competed against two other sales division teams – the Gulf States Division and the Sun Coast Division.
“I’d like to thank our leader, Mr. Victor Ragland, and to the 1700 associates in the Atlanta Division, we accept this on behalf you. To the judges, to the [executive leadership team], to the board members, what a great event,” Arkwood said in his acceptance remarks. “ATL, we’re bringing it back home.”
In addition to bringing home the trophy to display over the next year, the winning teams will also receive a celebration in their geographic location and $25,000 to donate to a nonprofit organization of their choice.
A total of six finalists made presentations before a judges’ panel at Coca-Cola UNITED’s corporate headquarters in Birmingham the morning of March 4 to share their stories of culture, service and community.
The Claude Nielsen Award for Excellence was established as a tribute to Nielsen, who retired in 2023 as Chairman of Coca-Cola UNITED’s Board of Directors and more than 40 years with the company.
“It’s unbelievable to see where you’ve taken this company and I have absolutely no doubt that the sky’s the limit,” Nielsen said in brief remarks to the finalists. “Congratulations and thank you for what you do for this fantastic enterprise that we all get to be part of.”