Randy Barton, manager of the Egyptian Theatre, received the 2026 Myles Rademan Spirit of Hospitality Award at the Park City Chamber/Bureau's annual meeting on Sept. 3.

Barton, who has lived in Park City for 50 years, turned the ceremony into a party. He played disco music and handed out pink glasses and chocolates, the Park Record reported.

The annual award honors a community member dedicated to making Park City a great place to live, work and play. It is named after Myles Rademan, who founded and directed the Leadership program for more than 25 years. Rademan introduced the award at the meeting, calling hospitality "beautifully and stubbornly human" and urging the audience to practice hospitality skills ahead of the 2034 Olympics.

Barton said he saw the honor as bigger than himself, accepting it on behalf of "all the folks who love arts and culture." He argued that arts and culture, not skiing alone, make Park City a real town. Visitors love the dining, the arts, the culture and the history, he said.

His pitch to the Chamber/Bureau: think of Park City as a stationary cruise ship. "We have all the things that you would go on a cruise for: entertainment, shows, great food," Barton said. Anyone visiting, he added, is going to be entertained.

Born in Hollywood, Barton moved to Park City in 1975 and founded the late-night fast food chain Sconecutter. He joined the Park City Players, acting and working concessions at the Sundance Film Festival after the theater was renamed the Egyptian in 1981. He hosted KPCW's afternoon show "The Local View" for 20 years, four hours a day, five days a week. He also created the TV show "Park City Faces," which aired live every weeknight for nearly a decade and filmed from Main Street for two weeks during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

His biggest rescue came in spring 2009, when the Egyptian Theatre had closed and canceled all productions. The board faced roughly $300,000 in debt after the Great Recession, according to KPCW's reporting. Barton negotiated a short-term contract to prove a different vision. The board tried to fire him three times. He stayed.

His model held: something on stage every week, a Pharaoh Club donor program and a mission to make the Egyptian the centerpiece of social life on Main Street. He also started a tuition-free youth theater program.

Barton's longtime friend Bob Richer presented the tribute at the Sept. 3 meeting. Richer said Barton "played a starring role in creating a Park City filled with music, theater, comedy and the arts," as KPCW reported.

The Chamber/Bureau also reported $2.2 billion in tourism economic impact and $1.6 billion in visitor spending in Summit County at the meeting, according to the Park Record. Chamber/Bureau President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said the organization is working to build Park City into a four-season destination.

Barton, most recently spotted riding a camel through Main Street at the Miners Day parade, described the Egyptian Theatre as "historic, authentic, intimate, genuine, social and, because of me, slightly irreverent."