For the Love of our Associates

Aug. 25 was a very special day at Wawa for a very special child.  Hundreds of Wawa associates lined the Red Roof entrance (our corporate headquarters) to cheer on 8-year-old Chris Staubus with handmade signs, noisemakers, high fives, and of course, hugs.  Chris is the grandson of Lori Hitt, the Fresh Food Manager from the Wawa in LaPlata Maryland. Chris recently completed treatment for a rare form of cancer, and he paid a visit to Red Roof to thank the Wawa family for all the heartfelt support and well wishes he’s received during his treatment.

Throughout Chris’s two-year battle with cancer, associates have been sending Chris constant cards and letters, and they’ve been by his family’s side lending prayers, words of encouragement, and support.  Chris is one of those people who hundreds of Wawa Associates feel a personal connection with, and his strength and positive outlook is something that inspire all of us each and every day.

So we were all thrilled to host a reception for Chris' family where Chris was presented with Boston Bruins’ sports memorabilia, a Wawa goodie basket, and a display of 3,500 cupcakes - all baked by the associates in attendance - spelling out is his name. 

Local police even joined in the celebration to make one of Chris's lifelong dreams come true.  "I can't think of any other company who would do something like this for their people,” said Upper Providence Township Police Chief, David Montella. "It's astounding and we are proud to be part of it.” The Chief proudly proclaimed that Chris Staubus was “officer for a day.” In addition, the Chief presented Chris with an official badge and plaque on behalf of the Upper Providence Township (Delaware County, PA) Police Department, as he spoke with emotion about how he admired Chris for his courage and strength during his treatments. After he presented Chris with a badge and a plaque, members of the department escorted Chris outside where he learned how to use the sirens and radio in an official police vehicle. 

Wawa's Internal Care Team, a department at Wawa dedicated to addressing life events of associates, spearheaded the celebration, but according to the team, it was the hundred of associates dedicated to Chris that really made the celebration happen. 

"We wanted the associates to be hands on and to design and host the celebration,” said Joe Bendas, Wawa’s Internal Care Advocate.  “This way, they really felt the joy in celebrating and cheering on such a special member of the Wawa family.  It was amazing to see all the volunteers who blew up balloons, baked cupcakes, made signs and banners and poured their hearts into the effort.”

"It's one thing to send someone a card that you never met,” said Jane Freney, Wawa’s Category Manager.  “It's quite another thing to meet that person and find out what those cards meant to him.  The fact that such a small gesture can go a long way is something we take for granted at times and something seeing Chris and hearing that he slept with the cards surrounding him - really drove this home for all of us at Wawa.”

Internal Care has been working with Chris and his family to help ease the burden of their travel and long stays at pediatric hospitals during the course of his treatments.  While this has been extremely important to his family, after the celebration I couldn’t help but realize that the most meaningful outreach Chris’s family has received was the love that poured through every card and letter sent to Chris.

Thank you to all of the Wawa associates who made Chris a part of their hearts, families, and daily thoughts.  You make me very proud to call myself a part of the Wawa Family.  It’s been a long journey, but all of us are confident that together Chris and his family will win this battle.

‘Till next time…

Spirits all over the Wawa community are still flying high from our first ever Fit to Fly Family barbeque, the launch event of our new Wawa Wellness Journey.  In fact, my spirits have yet to leave the clouds.  We launched our journey this past Wednesday at our Wawa Beverage Center where hundreds of Wawa Associates and their families joined us to celebrate our commitment to health and wellness. 

There was truly something for everyone’s tastes and fancy, and we invited each and every associate and their family members to sample tasty and healthy snacks from our barbeque and visit more than 20 health and personal wealth stations to learn about everything from diet and nutrition to financial management and tobacco cessation.  Associates relaxed with chair massages and kids exerted endless energy in our moon bounce, slide and games – all of which focused on promoting physical activity.  We even had a dunk tank, which I happily jumped in to benefit our internal Associates in Need Fund.

I’m thrilled that everyone left our Fit to Fly Barbeque rejuvenated and excited about leading a healthier future.  At Wawa, we are renewing our commitment to wellness by helping our associates form healthier lifestyles by embracing both wellness and fitness.  This commitment is rooted in our Wawa values – particularly our commitment to Value People.  Our brand new Fit to Fly Wellness Journey enables us to focus on our associates in a way that no other program or initiative can.  We’re taking a more holistic approach that enables us to focus on every part of what keeps our associates mentally and physically healthy, from their diet to financial wealth! 

Many of our associates already are Fit to Fly champions and we hope that every Wawa associate will join the fun! 

From watching our Fit to Fly associates, I’ve noticed that there’s one common thread connecting all of them – they’re all passionate about living the healthiest lifestyle possible and they’re inspired to lift and guide others to do the same. 

Watching these eager-to-learn associates lead and participate with gusto and then share their new knowledge with their families greatly inspires me.  I hope to follow their lead to engage the entire Wawa family in wellness-related activities. 

So with our kick-off event complete, I’m happy to report that we are off to a great start!   Our family barbeque was just the beginning of a fun-packed journey to boost our associates to a whole new level in their personal wellness journey.  Already, we have started to roll-out a program called Cardio-Kinetics, a series of bio-metric measures that help you know the state of your health and learn of potential problems.  Our goal is to extend this program to every region in our company and we’re more than half way there!

This journey is one very close to my heart, no pun intended, and I’m committed to honking from behind – in encouragement of our associates – as they begin to take steps to ensure that they are fit to fly.  I know we will all gain greater speed and distance travelling together than if we flew alone.

‘Till next time…

Have you caught the new CBS reality series, Undercover Boss?

This is a question I’ve been getting a lot lately, from many of our Wawa associates during my recent store visits.  I have seen the show, and I’ve watched “high-level chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies” – and it strikes me as such a foreign concept.

A number of associates shared the same reaction as me, expressing their astonishment that the executives could be so surprised by their findings.  “This would never happen at Wawa,” one associate told me, "Because our executives are visible and spend time visiting, touring and working in stores."

This associate hit the nail on the head.  As I've mentioned before in my past blogs (http://www.wawa.com/Blog/category/Culture.aspx?page=3), at Wawa, we have a time-honored tradition of touring our stores that dates back more than 30 years.  In fact, our senior leadership team has logged thousands of store visits. In addition to several store visits each month, our leadership team all participates in our semi-annual Flounder’s Day tradition in which they work in stores across our region, doing everything from pumping gas to making coffee. It’s a way to learn firsthand about what’s working – and what’s not – and keeps us grounded and in touch with associates, customers and the business.

Well, Flounder’s Day is here again, and over the course of the next month, all of our senior leadership team, including Directors, will take turns working shifts at our stores.  I guess you could call it our version of "Undercover Boss", except we’re not actually going undercover. Instead, Flounder’s Day has become an important and deeply engrained tradition--something that Grahame Wood, our founder, started over 30 years ago and continues to live on today.

As the saying goes, retail is detail.  All of our critical action takes place in our stores and that’s why it’s so important for our management and senior leaders to spend time in stores right alongside them.  We are a bottoms-up-organization, and we truly value our associates and admire what they do every day to delight our customers.

‘Till next time.