Wakefern CEO to Receive Scouting's Highest Honor

Wakefern Food Corp. Chairman and CEO Joseph Colalillo will be honored with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) by the Washington Crossing Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Photograph courtesy of Wakefern Food Corp.

The DESA was established in 1969 to acknowledge Eagle Scouts who have received extraordinary national-level recognition, fame or demonstrated eminence within their field, and have a strong record of voluntary service to their community. It is the National Eagle Scout Association’s highest honor.

Only Eagle Scouts who earned the Eagle Scout rank a minimum of 25 years previously are eligible for nomination. Colalillo earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1976, youth Scouting’s highest honor.

“In short, Distinguished Eagle Scouts are those that have risen to the top of their avocation or vocation at a national level,” Rick Bragga, VP of the National Eagle Scout Association, said in a statement.

Colalillo has been chairman and CEO of Wakefern since 2005 and a member of its board of directors since 1989. As the merchandising and distribution arm for ShopRite stores, Wakefern is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the country and one of the largest employers in New Jersey. Prior to becoming chairman, Colalillo was the company’s vice chairman from 1999 to 2005.

Related:Wakefern Food Corp. Announces $13.6 Billion in Retail Sales

Colalillo is also president of ShopRite of Hunterdon County, a family-owned business founded in the late 1940s by his father, Joseph A. Colalillo. The Colalillo family owns and operates five ShopRite stores in Flemington, Greenwich and Clinton, N.J.; and Yardley and Bethlehem, Pa.

Wakefern COO Joseph Sheridan is also a DESA recipient.

The Washington Crossing Council will honor Colalillo on Oct. 11 in Sergeantsville, N.J.