Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc., a leading provider of admission control systems, has announced the awardees for the Inaugural North America UGM Customer Excellence Awards 2026.
The company has honoured exceptional customers across six categories, each with its own criteria. It said selecting the recipients was challenging and highlighted the Gateway community's remarkable talent and quality.
Celebrating exceptional partners
The Community Champion Award went to Luis Almonte of Discovery Cube, Vanessa Lewis of Reporting Maven, and Marcus Lopez of SSA, recognising their dedication to helping others and willingness to step in when needed.
The Innovation Award went to Mt. Cuba Center and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens for their creativity and efforts to find exciting new ways to address unexpected challenges.
Hersheypark and The National Aquarium received the Web Store of the Year Award for online stores that serve as benchmarks and exemplify excellence.
The Implementation of the Year Award honoured Clark Planetarium and Lucky Strike Entertainment Corporation for new Galaxy implementations or features that surpassed expectations and positively impacted their businesses.
Mt. Cuba Center was recognised with the Innovation Award, alongside The Living Desert Zoo and GardensImage courtesy of Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc.
The Legacy Award recognised Donna Powell of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Nicole Meek of Aquarium of the Pacific, and Scott Lyons of Disneyland. As longtime members and loyal partners in the Gateway community, they have attended and organised numerous UGMs and supported others in the Galaxy community.
This year’s Host Appreciation Award went to The Phoenix Zoo and OdySea Aquarium for going above and beyond to welcome the broader Gateway community during UGM and inspire excitement for the future.
"Thank you from your friends at Gateway Ticketing Systems for making this year’s NA UGM a success and for all the fun memories," says the firm. "We’re already looking forward to seeing you all again at NA UGM 2027!"
Gateway has more than 150 professionals based in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, including software developers, technical specialists, IT personnel, project managers, customer service representatives, and others.
See also: Unifying ticketing, retail and data: Gateway’s role in modern attractions
