Ken Whiting | Episode 106

Ken Whiting is President of Whiting’s Food Concessions and also leads the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) as its chair. Mr. Whiting has spent his entire career working for his family’s business, and in the attractions, industry starting from an ice cream stand on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and his first job at 10 years old peeling bananas. IAAPA is the global association for the attractions industry, representing 6,000 facilities, suppliers, and individual members from more than 100 countries, and his involvement with IAAPA spans more than four decades. The company has been an active member of IAAPA for more than half a century. Mr. Whiting shares the fascinating success story of this family business that began with his dad delivering milk. He talks about investing in first-job seekers and their futures and the importance of adapting to their lifestyles as their lifestyles change. He shares his success stories and lessons learned. He talks about the behind-the-scenes activities that make it a day to remember for their customers. He also talks about the pandemic pivots the business made to keep up a revenue stream. He shares which pivots were successful and which continue today.