LAS VEGAS, 2014-10-13— /EPR Retail News/ — The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) announced the election of its 2014-15 Executive Committee during its Board of Directors meeting at the NACS Show in Las Vegas.
Steve Loehr, vice president of operations support at La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, was named the association’s 2014-15 chairman. Loehr also chairs the NACS Executive Committee, which provides strategic direction and financial oversight to the association.
Also named to the NACS Executive Committee were the following NACS retail members:
• Vice Chairman-Treasurer: Jack Kofdarali, president at Corona, California-based J&T Management Inc.;
• Vice Chairman, Legislative: Peter Tedeschi, president and CEO at Rockland, Massachusetts-based Tedeschi Food Shops;
• Vice Chairman, Convention: Wendy Chronister, CEO of Chronister Oil Company (Qik-n-EZ)
• Vice Chairman, Research: Joe Sheetz, president and CEO at Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz Inc.;
• Vice Chairman, Member Services: Rahim Budhwani, CEO at Hoover, Alabama-based 6040 LLC;
• Vice Chairman, International: Frank Gleeson, retail director at Dublin, Ireland-based Topaz Energy Group Limited; and
• Vice Chairman: Tony Kenney, president, at Enon, Ohio-based Speedway LLC
Also on the NACS Executive Committee are 2013-14 NACS Chairman Brad Call, vice president of adventure culture at Maverik (North Salt Lake City, Utah); and 2012-13 Chairman Dave Carpenter, president and CEO at J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc. (Urbandale, Iowa).
Here are biographies of the newly elected NACS Executive Committee members:
Steve Loehr: 2014-15 NACS Chairman
Loehr is vice president of operations support for Kwik Trip Inc., which operates more than 400 Kwik Trip and Kwik Star convenience stores throughout three states.
A fourth-generation, family-owned business, Kwik Trip opened its first store in 1965 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In addition to its corporate Support Center, which handles the administrative needs of stores, the company owns a bakery, commissary, dairy, distribution warehouse and vehicle maintenance divisions.
Prior to joining Kwik Trip 24 year ago, Loehr owned and operated a supermarket in the 1980s and worked for Gateway Foods of Pennsylvania, serving four years as its president. He is active in a number of industry groups, serving on the boards of the Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association and Wisconsin Grocers Association, and is a member of SIGMA. He also is a board member of Merchants Bank, Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and Western Technical College.
Loehr earned a B.S. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He and his wife Cheryl have four children.
Jack Kofdarali, Vice Chairman-Treasurer
Kofdarali is president of J&T Management Inc. As the vice chairman-treasurer, he is responsible for overseeing the association’s financial plan. He has most recently served as NACS vice chairman of convention.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Kofdarali came to United State in 1980. He and his family purchased their first business, a liquor store in Newport Beach, California. In 1990, they purchased their first gas station in Calimesa, California. In 2000, he became sole owner of the J&R Oil Company.
Kofdarali expanded J&R Oil Company to J&T Management as the business grew and interests diversified. J&T Management also specializes in building commercial retail centers throughout Southern California as well as owning and managing apartment units in Texas.
Kofdarali and his wife Taline have three children.
Peter Tedeschi: Vice Chairman, Legislative
Tedeschi is president and CEO of Tedeschi Food Shops. As the vice chairman of legislative, he oversees the NACS Legislative Committee and the efforts of NACSPAC, the convenience store industry’s political action committee.
He is part of the third generation of the family-owned business that began in 1923 when his grandfather, Angelo Tedeschi, started selling imported Italian meats and cheeses from his home.
Prior to joining Tedeschi Food Shops as its president and COO in 2008, Tedeschi was an entrepreneurial pioneer in the computer industry before becoming an executive in Boston’s financial industry, where he was senior vice president and director of operations for Putnam Investments.
Tedeschi attended Thayer Academy and graduated as the president of his senior class from Stonehill College with a degree in political science. He and his wife Katherine have twin sons.
Wendy Chronister: Vice Chairman, Convention
Chronister is the CEO of Chronister Oil Company dba Qik-n-EZ. As the NACS vice chairman of convention, Chronister oversees the activities of the Convention Committee, which oversees the development and implementation of NACS events, including the NACS Show.
She has been CEO of Chronister Oil Co. since 2009. Previously, she was a partner at Waud Capital Partners LLC and at Kirkland and Ellis. Chronister is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Young President’s Organization/Chicago Chapter. She previously served on the boards of Regency Hospital Company, ASG Security LLC, Acadia Healthcare LLC, Maxum Petroleum (f/k/a SPI Holdings LLC) and was chairman of True Partners Consulting LLC. She also serves on the board of the Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago, the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation, the Women’s Board of the Field Museum of Chicago, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago.
Chronister graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1987, earning an A.B. in government. In 1992, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois.
Joe Sheetz: Vice Chairman, Research
Sheetz is president and CEO of Sheetz Inc. As the vice chairman of research, he oversees the NACS Research Committee, which directs the association’s research and development initiatives and programs to promote the ongoing competitive viability of the channel.
Since 1952, Sheetz Inc. has grown from a small dairy/deli in Altoona, to one of the fastest- growing, family-owned convenience stores in the world. Sheetz joined the company in 1995 as director of personnel and later served as executive vice president of finance and store development before being promoted to his current position in October 2013. He previously was a pension and benefit consultant for Consulting Group Inc. (CGI).
He is the former chairman and current board member of both Altoona Blair Country Development Corporation and Mount Aloysius College, an Advisory Board Member of M&T Bank Corporation, and co-founder and board member of Operation Our Town. He also serves on the NACS Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council.
Sheetz earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Wendy reside in Altoona and have two children.
Frank Gleeson: Vice Chairman, International
Gleeson is the managing director of Aramark Ireland. As the NACS vice chairman of international, Gleeson chairs the International Committee and directs the association’s global engagement.
Aramark Ireland has more than 5,000 employees across 985 locations. Its world-class experience and expertise in workplace solutions, foodservice, convenience retailing, environmental services and property enables it to provide a fully integrated solution to Irish and EMEA companies.
He began his career in retail as an operations director for O’Brien’s Fine Wines. He later served as vice president of retail for Statoil Ireland. More recently he was retail director for Topaz Energy Group since 2005, where he led the rebranding of the company in 2008 and was responsible for the retail business of more than 340 sites. Gleeson is chairman of Retail Ireland and a council member of Irish employers group IBEC and also Chairman of IBEC’s energy policy committee. He is a member of the Irish Directors Institute and treasurer of Parnell’s GAA club. He graduated in business management from the Irish Management Institute. He and his wife Marian have four children.
Rahim Budhwani: Vice Chairman, Member Services
Budhwani is president and CEO of 6040 LLC. As the NACS vice chairman of member services, he oversees the association’s Member Services Committee, which sets the strategic direction for NACS with respect to retail membership value.
Budhwani served on the Board of Directors of the Petroleum and Convenience Marketers of Alabama and on the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. He serves on the Board the Alabama Underground Trust Fund and also played a vital role in building the relationship between the National Alliance of Trade Associations and NACS.
He earned a B.S. in information technology from the University of Pune and a degree in hotel management and food technology. He is currently working on a degree in aviation business administration and was also a lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Budhwani and his wife Kulsum live in Hoover, Alabama, with their two children.
Tony Kenney: Vice Chairman
Tony Kenney is president of Speedway LLC, which operates approximately 1,470 stores in seven states.
He has 38 years of experience in the convenience retailing and fuels industries. In 2005, he was named president of Speedway. Kenney has held numerous positions within Marathon Oil Corporation’s International and Domestic Exploration and Production Accounting organizations and in MPC’s Supply and Transportation and Business Development organizations. At Speedway, he previously served as commercial manager, controller, treasurer and vice president of finance and ITS.
Kenney is a member of the Board of Trustees for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and serves on the board of directors of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the Dayton Children’s Foundation.
He earned a B.S. in accounting from Miami University and also completed the Executive Program at the University Raymond and John.
NOTE: Photos are available upon request.
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Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS (nacsonline.com) is the international association for convenience and fuel retailing. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 151,000 stores across the country, posted $696 billion in total sales in 2013, of which $491 billion were motor fuels sales. NACS has 2,100 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies, which do business in nearly 50 countries.