Last week, I was honored to participate in the commencement ceremony at my alma mater, Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey http://www.rider.edu/.  It’s hard to believe that my own college graduation was all the way back in May of 1967 when Rider was a College and hadn’t yet transitioned into a University.   You could say that, 42 years later, I have come full circle, now having the distinct privilege and honor of serving as the chair of the Board of Trustees at Rider University. 

As I sat on the stage last week, participating in the commencement services, I couldn’t help but reminisce about how my life has evolved in the more than four decades since I received my college diploma.  I didn’t realize then that the kind of education I had received during my four years at Rider, would shape me into the person I am today, and give me the foundation I needed to prepare for a future career.  And as I look back, I realize that college prepares individuals not only to dream, but to make their dreams to come true. 

Personally and professionally, I have always believed in the power of pursuing your dreams. In fact, you could say that at Wawa, we are in the dreams business.  Wawa is a magical place where people can achieve their potential and can fulfill their dreams – no matter what the dreams may be.  We give associates the opportunity to work up the corporate ladder, support community activities, and become the best they can be in their dedicated profession.  Let me share a few stories about how our associates are dreamers, like me.

Jim Wisniewski is a General Manager in our Hamilton Square, New Jersey store.  I had the honor of being on stage at the Rider graduation while Jim received his diploma.  Jim is 21 and has worked full-time as a Wawa General Manager for the past three years while attending Rider full-time.  He grew up just a few blocks from the store he now manages.  He began working at Wawa while attending college and was promoted to General Manager.  Jim has always had big dreams and a passion for everything he does.  According to Jim, it’s been a challenging, but fun and rewarding journey.  He tells me that he learned many things from school that he can apply to his role at Wawa; and at the same time, he learned many things from Wawa he has been able to apply to school.  Jim said it’s been his life’s dream to get a college degree, and Wawa has helped him make his dreams come true through work flexibility and some assistance through our tuition reimbursement program. 

Another dreamer is Wendy Marshall.  Wendy is our Corporate Secretary Administrator in Wawa’s Legal Department.  Wendy, a mother of two daughters –one recently graduating college – decided to return to school in August of 2001 to complete her degree.  In 2005, Wendy suffered a stroke.  She courageously fought to recover, and never gave up her dream of completing her education all along the way.  Wendy said she was driven even more to finish the program after she was told by doctors that the odds of her completing it were against her.  Wendy received her degree from Neumann College this past weekend, as part of Wawa’s cohort program, along with three other Wawa Associates.  She is proud of achieving this dream and for the unwavering support of her family, friends, and her extended Wawa family along the way.  Wendy said when she heard her name announced on stage, it hit her that her dream was no longer a dream-- it was a reality.

The desire to constantly improve is what drives us to learn more.  And it’s what allows us to become fulfilled individuals, and provide our customers with the friendliest most convenient service possible.   By learning more, we become enriched as individuals, as a team, and as a company. No matter what your level of education or stage of life, learning is something you can do throughout your career at Wawa.  At Wawa, we are dedicated to continuous learning, and to helping associates earn their degrees in higher education.  Available programs include classes at local campuses, tuition reimbursement programs, and cohort partnerships with St. Joseph’s University, Immaculate College and Neumann College, to name a few.  I continue to believe that this commitment sets us apart from other companies, and is part of what keeps us one big family, always expanding our minds and our hearts.

So hats off to all of our graduates!  May all your dreams come true.

“Til next time…

As most of you know our core purpose is to simplify our customers’ daily lives.  To us this doesn’t just mean providing fast service, or being a friendly face behind the counter.  It also means coming out from behind the counter and becoming an involved community partner, helping to champion causes close to hearts of our associates and community members. 

So this past Mother’s Day, for the 17th consecutive year, Wawa was part of a wonderful celebration of love and hope during the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure.  Pink was the color of the day, and pink power could be seen and felt in every nook and cranny of event, from the ribbon of hope sprinkles on our donuts to the colorful shirts and signs with heartfelt messages above loved ones bravely fighting the battle against breast cancer.

For all of us at Wawa, the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure is a truly inspiring day, defined by people, product and passion. 

People like Kathleen Monte.  Kathleen is a Wawa Associate who wears two hats at the event—first, as a breast cancer survivor proudly supporting the cause, and second as a Wawa ambassador and volunteer serving food to all the supporters.  As a breast cancer survivor for 13 years now, Kathleen proudly marches down the Art Museum steps as the survivors are celebrated at the beginning of the event.  She then assumes her role as volunteer at the Wawa Bakery tent.  Every year, hundreds of Wawa Associates join the estimated 100,000 volunteers, participants, and survivors who converge on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia to spend Mother’s Day (rain or shine) making strides to find a cure for breast cancer.  When you look at the sea of pink and the thousands and thousands of supporters who turn out for this event, it’s awe-inspiring. 

No matter what your personal story or affiliation to the cause may be, everyone has a singular mission:  to find a cure. 

That’s why we are there and will continue to be there until a cure is found.  In addition to providing volunteers, it has been our honor to fuel the runners and walkers.  This year, we were proud to once again serve more than 3,500 cups of coffee to volunteers, over 50,000 Wawa Bakery items, fruit and pretzels, 30,000 Wawa iced teas and fruit drinks, and 30,000 bottles of Wawa water to nourish those attending the event.  Throughout the years, Wawa Associates have volunteered thousands of hours, served more than half a million donuts, muffins, pretzels and other baked goods and brewed tens of thousands of cups of coffee for race volunteers and participants.

And while our food may provide foot power, the real power of this event comes from the passion people feel about the cause.  Breast cancer is something that affects the communities we serve, our customers, and our associates.  We all have mothers, daughters, and sisters that we love, so we are proud to be a part of this day.  Our core value--passion for winning drives us to support the cause year after year, and for some of our associates, it means driving several hours to show their support and pay tribute to the memory of a good friend and co-worker.  The associates include Cathy Ressler, Maureen Pimble, Molly Igo, Michelle Hysockie and Lara Phippin (also a breast cancer survivor) a group of associates from our stores located near the Eastern Shore of Delaware.  They are there to honor the memory of beloved friend and colleague, Chrissy Callahan.  Chrissy was a General Manager with Wawa for eight years when she lost her long battle with breast cancer.  Chrissy will always be remembered for her vibrant spirit, her commitment to local community organizations, and to her Wawa family. 

Every year, the team from southern Delaware continues to pay tribute to her memory and to show their support of this important cause.  Every year, we dedicate our involvement as a company to Chrissy, and to all other members of the Wawa family who have fought or who are fighting this disease. 

We won’t rest until a cure is found.  We’ll see you there next year.

‘Til Next Time…

Last week, we held our annual Shareholder’s Meeting, a tradition that gives us the opportunity to come together and discuss our challenges and successes over the past year, and exciting plans for what’s to come.  This year was particularly special as we returned to our roots in honor of our 45th anniversary, and brought our meeting back home—literally.  Rather than hold the meeting off site as we have done for the past several years, everyone gathered instead under a big-top tent on the grounds of Red Roof, our corporate headquarters here in Wawa, PA.  And while it rained throughout the meeting, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of associate owners and founding family members in attendance.  

People often wonder about our stock in light of the fact that we are a private company.  As you know Wawa is family owned and operated, and the majority of our company stock is still owned by the founding family.  In addition, more than 8,000 Wawa Associates participate in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and collectively have a 28% ownership stake in the company. 

The bond between the founding family and our associates is fundamental to Wawa’s core values and success.  It’s one of the ways we have continued to grow and thrive throughout the years.  Our annual meeting allows us to highlight this bond.  It also serves as a hallmark of what sets our company apart – our unique ownership structure and our vibrant culture. 

During the meeting we reviewed our business results with our owners, celebrated our 45th anniversary and reported on our continued plans to value and engage our associates who serve and connect with our customers.  And while it rained outside of our meeting tent, we reflected on another “storm” we weathered last year – the turbulent economic conditions of 2008.  Thanks to the loyalty of our customers and associates, we were able to work through the challenges of last year, and position ourselves to provide customers with value and consistency during these difficult times.

At the meeting we shared plans to deepen our connection with both our associates and our customers.  We are engaging our associates through Town Hall Meetings and Share the Vision Tours throughout 2009 to focus on listening to, learning from, and sharing information with our associates. This year we are also dedicating resources to strengthen our online presence via interactive microsites, Facebook and social media applications, online advertising, and this very journal, in an effort to communicate and converse with our customers in more ways than ever before.

We concluded the meeting with a dinner and reception featuring traditional Wawa food favorites that have played an important part in building our food service offer through the years, as well as some of our new food items showing our continued commitment to innovation.

So, during last week’s meeting we celebrated the weathering of two storms – the rain that poured down on our meeting tent and the turbulent conditions that our dedicated flock rose to the occasion to fly through during 2008.  And even though the rain came down hard during our meeting, our “flock” of associates and shareholders saw light breaking through the cloudy, dismal economy, and we all saw brighter skies ahead.

‘Til next time…