Historic Hotels of America announced this week that Stephanie Stuckey will receive the 2025 Historic Hotels of America Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration Award.
Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels in the United States. The Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence honors historic preservation and timeless hospitality at historic hotels in various categories each year.
The 2025 Historic Hotels of America Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration Award recognizes the accomplishments of Stephanie Stuckey, chairwoman of Stuckey’s Corporation, in “pioneering innovative concepts, achieving uncommon success, for being an inspiring leader, and whose vision has resulted in restoring the iconic brand, legacy, nostalgia, charm and celebration of Stuckey’s, an American Icon since 1937 known for delicious candy and warm hospitality on highways across the United States.”
The award will be given to Stuckey during the 2025 Historic Hotels Annual Conference at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel Seattle on Oct. 29 in front of an audience of owners and operators representing many historic hotels from across the United States and around the world.
Stuckey, also a champion of Route 66 and its small businesses, will deliver a keynote speech about the lessons she learned from the turnaround of a family-owned business that was reclaimed from decline. Her talk will cover how she has drawn inspiration from her grandfather’s business model, leveraged nostalgia, recentered growth on the brand’s core pecan products and focused on manufacturing.
“I want to thank Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide for this honor. I am overwhelmed with pride that our team at Stuckey’s delivers on our company values every day and that you – hospitality professionals and family business owners — see and recognize our efforts. I look forward to joining you in Seattle and sharing some pecan treasures,” Stuckey said.
Stuckey’s was known for generations as a highway oasis that served pecan log rolls and kitschy souvenirs. Founded in 1937 by her grandfather, W.S. Stuckey Sr., in Eastman, Georgia, Stuckey’s grew into over 350 stores nationwide by its peak in the 1970s, including a substantial number along the Route 66 corridor.
The company was sold in 1964 and declined for decades under a series of corporate owners. Stuckey’s returned to the family in 1985 under the leadership of W.S. Bill Stuckey Jr. and is now led by Bill’s daughter, Stephanie.
When W.S. Stuckey Sr. founded the company nearly 90 years ago, he approached the business with the stated principle that “every traveler is a friend.”
Stephanie Stuckey says she upholds her grandfather’s wisdom at Stuckey’s today, and it remains key for solidifying the customer relationship.
In January 2021, Stuckey’s acquired a pecan shelling and candy plant in Wrens, Georgia, and has scaled production of the Stuckey’s-branded snacks and sweets — such as the iconic pecan log roll — to be sold in almost 5,000 retail stores nationwide. Stuckey’s also operates a distribution center in Eastman, Ga., a fundraising business, a corporate gift program, and has an online store.
Stephanie Stuckey received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia. She worked as a trial lawyer, was elected to seven terms as a state representative, ran an environmental law firm, served as director of sustainability for Atlanta and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law.
She bought Stuckey’s in November 2019 and subsequently brought in other partners and co-owners. Her achievements include being named one of the Most Admired CEOs of 2022 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine and a graduate of Leadership Atlanta. She serves on the corporate board for Bealls, a Florida-based retailer with more than 550 stores.
In recent years, the story of Stuckey’s turnaround has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Business Section, the TODAY Show, Forbes, and The Washington Post.
When she’s not running Stuckey’s, Stephanie enjoys traveling by car to explore the backroads of America and pulling over at every boiled peanut stand and the World’s Largest Ball of Twine.
(Image of Stephanie Stuckey via Historic Hotels of America)