Honorary Lifetime Membership

The Honorary Lifetime Membership Award has been discontinued. The NCA thanks prior winners for their commitment to the coffee industry!

NCA member volunteers generously contribute their time, expertise, and resources further the mission of the NCA and the coffee community worldwide. As a small trade association, we're grateful for every contribution. 

From time to time, a volunteer will consistently go above and beyond the call of duty. 

The NCA offers a special tribute for these individuals: the status of Honorary Lifetime Membership.

Nominations for this award come from NCA members, and we encourage all members to submit nominations. Both nominees and sponsors must be members of the NCA.

2020 Honorary Lifetime Member: Dub Hay

This award is reserved for industry leaders who have dedicated their lives to coffee and shown unwavering commitment to the Association — and Dub Hay is no exception. Mr. Hay is a “coffee guy” through and through, having served in the industry for over 40 years — first at Folger’s (after serving in the Navy as a fighter pilot), then later at Hill Bros. Coffee, Nestlé, and Starbucks, where he created and implemented the company’s first set of social and environmental buying practices and developed a network of Farmer Support Centers in Central America and Africa. Now retired, Mr. Hay continues his work in coffee, serving as a founding partner and Board Chair of Kona Hills, LLC., a 2,000 acre development project to produce Kona estate coffee.

Mr. Hay has been a longstanding and active member of the NCA community, having served as a Board Member for the better part of two decades, including as Chairman during the NCA’s Centennial Year (2011) and interim CEO of the NCA in 2013. Mr. Hay has also held numerous industry leadership roles outside of the NCA, including Chairman of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association and Chairman of the Coffee Committee during his 16 years on the Board of the Coffee, Cocoa & Sugar Exchange (later the New York Board of Trade, now ICE Exchange). He continues his volunteer and philanthropic work in Sonoma, CA, where he lives with his wife, Lyn.

Thank you, Dub!