OneMarysville will present the Legacy Award to Dan and Ronda Wassenberg of Pepsi-Cola of Marysville during Celebrate Marysville, the organization’s annual meeting and awards banquet, on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Venue 36, 1195 Pony Express Highway.
Celebrate Marysville is open to the public and begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail hour, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. catered by Bite Me Barbecue. The program and awards presentation will begin at 7:45 p.m.
Tickets are $25 or $200 for a table of eight. Reservations are requested by Jan. 5. Tickets may be purchased online at onemarysville.com under the Events section or in person at 617 Broadway on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Legacy Award recognizes long-term leadership and impact that has helped shape Marysville and the region. In the Wassenbergs’ case, that legacy is defined by steady business leadership and decades of civic service, paired with a deep commitment to employees, customers and community.
Dan Wassenberg has led the family’s beverage and vending operations while also serving in key leadership roles across business, banking and community organizations. Ronda Wassenberg helped guide the company’s wholesale operation for decades and has been a consistent community leader through service to civic groups, health care and local nonprofits.
The Wassenbergs’ business story dates back to 1933, when the family first entered beverage distribution during Kansas’ dry-state era. What began with beer distribution and the family’s first national brand, Schlitz, grew over time to include territory across 14 counties through purchases from other distributors in communities including Marysville, Belleville, Atchison and Beloit. That chapter of the business changed in 1999, when the Miller-Coors merger led Kansas Miller distributors to sell to Coors.
The Pepsi business began when the family brought cases of Pepsi back to Marysville from Holton, one of the few places in Kansas producing it at the time. The family secured the Pepsi franchise for four counties on Dec. 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the 1951 flood, the family expanded its territory to include Riley, Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties.
In 1980, the family purchased the Marysville Candy Company and renamed it MarKan Sales. Ronda Wassenberg managed MarKan Sales for more than 30 years, helping build the wholesale and vending operation into a steady part of the company’s footprint.
The company expanded again in 1984 through a partnership that acquired the Pepsi franchise in Lincoln, Neb., now known as LinPepCo. Over time, the partnership added additional Pepsi franchises in Alliance, Hastings, Sioux City and Topeka. In Manhattan, the company built a new warehouse on Levee Drive in 2004 to support beverage and vending operations.
Dan Wassenberg also expanded the company’s vending presence by purchasing Bird Vending Company in Manhattan in 1998, renaming it Five Star Vending Company. The vending operation continued to grow through additional expansion in Junction City and more recent acquisitions in 2024.
Today, Pepsi-Cola of Marysville is owned and operated by third- and fourth-generation owners Dan and Jake Wassenberg. The company employs 68 full-time employees, including 18 employees with 15 to 40 years of service, and distributes beverages including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubbl’r, Gatorade, Starbucks, Lipton, Celsius, Aquafina and Ocean Spray.
In addition to his work in the family business, Dan Wassenberg has served on the board and as president of Community Memorial Healthcare and served as president of the Marysville Chamber of Commerce. He served six years with the Kansas Soft Drink Association and three years on the Kansas Beer Wholesalers Association.
He served 23 years on the Wis-Pak Board of Directors, headquartered in Madison, Wis., one of the nation’s largest production cooperatives. He served on the board of Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community in Manhattan and has served on the board of Citizens State Bank since 1994.
He currently serves as permanent chairman of the LinPepCo partnership and serves on the board of the Kansas State University Golf Course and Research Foundation at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan.
Ronda Wassenberg has a long record of civic service. She was the first female president of the Marysville Rotary Club in 2002 and was a Rotary member from 1989 to 2022. She has been a member of the Preceptor Zeta chapter of Beta Sigma Phi for 48 years, serving as past president and treasurer, and chaired the Marshall County Junior Miss Program for 11 years.
She served on the Community Memorial Healthcare board and served as past president of the Kansas Candy and Tobacco Association. She is a member of St. Gregory’s Church, served on the building committee for the St. Gregory’s School expansion and remodel, served as a Eucharist minister and lector and previously served on the finance council.
She is a member of the Ladies Golf Group at Colbert Hills Golf Club and serves as a board member and treasurer of the Marysville Community Foundation.
“Dan and Ronda have poured a lot into Marysville over the years,” said Liz Warren, OneMarysville board president. “They’ve built a strong business, but they’re also the kind of people who serve and make things better. This award is a way for our community to say thank you and to recognize the impact they’ve had on so many levels.”
The Wassenbergs have two children: Jake Wassenberg and his wife, Barb, of Manhattan, with children Greyson, Lydia and Elliott, and Emily Smith and her husband, Christopher, of Parkville, Mo., with children Carson, Lauren and Cora.
For more information, contact OneMarysville at 785-562-3101.
