Wawa Welcome America is shaping up to be an action-packed 10 days filled with family entertainment, music, history, and good old-fashioned fun. I recently got back from a joint press conference with Mayor Nutter where we announced some new details about the Welcome America lineup and it’s got me eagerly counting down the days until the festivities begin.

What excites me isn’t just Wawa’s role as the title sponsor of this “can’t miss” event of the summer, but also how Wawa Welcome America is a reflection of the many important values and traditions that are paramount to Wawa, our city, and our region. First and foremost, it’s a celebration of the rich history that defines our past and the collaborative spirit and perseverance that resulted in Philadelphia becoming the birthplace of our nation. Next, it represents our strong traditions – traditions that define us culturally from music to food to entertainment. Additionally, it instills a sense of community, bringing together people from across the region to celebrate our pride in America and our pride as Philadelphians.

As you likely are aware from reading past entries, at Wawa we place a strong emphasis on our traditions that have allowed us to grow and thrive over the past 200 years. We are proud to be a hometown company that stays true to our roots. Our Dairy began operations in 1902 and we are still manufacturing at the same plant and delivering to our hometown, and beyond. 

As the title sponsor of Welcome America, we’re proud to celebrate Philadelphia traditions and to also have the opportunity to weave in our own traditions throughout the festival. In particular, there are two signature Wawa events that I proudly announced at the press conference:

The first is a special, interactive exhibit on our very own Wawa Dairy that will be part of Welcome America’s Go 4^th & Learn series. As part of the exhibit, we’ll be sharing the history of our Dairy; offering (simulated) lessons in cow milking; and serving up chocolate, strawberry, and skim milk samples at the Wawa Milk Bar. Our 1918 Antique Dairy Truck will also be on display, a reminder of our rich heritage and how far we’ve come.

The second is Hoagie Day, a tradition we’re thrilled to bring back to the city where it all began in 1992, on a day when then-Mayor Ed Rendell proclaimed the Hoagie to be the Official Sandwich of Philadelphia. I’m confident in saying that this will be the biggest and best Hoagie Day ever. The Hoagie will, of course, take center stage with a mile-and-a-quarter-long hoagie served free to the public. (For those of you keeping count, that’s the equivalent of more than 13,000 Shortis!) That day, we will also donate a truckload of hoagies to Philabundance and will salute our hometown heroes with a charity hoagie building contest between the Philadelphia Fire and Police Departments. And we’ll also be paying homage to another Philly classic, Rocky, with a Rocky Idol Contest and special screening of Rocky at the foot of the Art Museum steps.

My apologies for such a long post, but as you can see there’s so much excitement in the works that I want to share with you! For details about both events and the rest of the Wawa Welcome America lineup, visit www.welcomeamerica.com. I hope to see you at these events as we celebrate our nation’s independence and the rich traditions of Philadelphia and Wawa.

‘Till next time…

It’s that time of the year again, when summer is just around the corner, and here at Wawa that can only mean one thing: Hoagiefest!

Not only can you get your favorite Shortis for just $2.99 during the summer (see the full lineup at www.hoagiefest.com), but it also means that for a third year we’re taking our 1960’s-inspired Hoagiefest Tour on the road with stops throughout the Mid-Atlantic. It’s our way of paying tribute to the almighty hoagie, celebrating our Wawa hoagie fanatics, and commemorating a summer of peace, savings, and Shortis.

I hope you can join us at a Hoagiefest near you:

June 3: Rio Grande, NJ
June 11: Toms River, NJ
June 30: Philadelphia, PA
June 17: Sandston, VA
July 16: Lewes, DE

For those of you in the Philadelphia area, we’re hosting a very special Hoagiefest on June 30 at the foot of the Art Museum steps as part of our Wawa Welcome America festivities! Check www.hoagiefest.com and www.welcomeamerica.com for tour details.

So what’s in store at our Hoagiefest events? For starters, each event will feature a quarter mile long hoagie served free to the public. Add to that a charity hoagie building contest between local police officers, firefighters, and community leaders; singing and dancing to original Hoagiefest tunes; a donation of a truckload of Wawa food and beverages to a local food bank; and, of course, plentiful games and giveaways. Each Hoagiefest event will also feature carnival games, a hoagie history display, and a special appearance by Hoagieman in his Hoagiemobile. And if you really want to get into the spirit of Hoagiefest, you’re invited to enter the Hoagiefest Poster Contest at your local Hoagiefest for a chance to win groovy Wawa prizes at the event.

Needless to say, there are a number of mouth-watering reasons to join the festivities. I can’t wait to see you there.

‘Till next time…

Wawa’s 145th Shareholder’s Meeting

In many of past entries, I’ve often mentioned our long history and deeply valued culture that has made us the company we are today.  We are a Company with more than 200 years of history in American business. While you all know as the convenience store chain we are today, we were founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865. Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Next, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton pieces. The Wawa Dairy opened in 1902, and the first Wawa Food Market opened in 1964.

Throughout all of this change, and as the Company has continually responded to change through the years, the elements that have remained constant and which are the source of our strength and foundation have remained the same-- our family values and our family ownership structure. Wawa is a privately held company with 61% of the Company owned by the descendants of George Wood. An additional 28% of Wawa is owned by our Associates in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which is a great source of pride and value to our associate owners.

Last week, we held our Annual Shareholder’s Meeting. This wonderful Wawa family tradition gives us the opportunity to review our business performance and how it is providing “value” to our shareholders; and to review how we are living our “values”, which are stronger than ever. This meeting provides a time for us to review and “renew” our commitment to our six core values:  value people; delight customers; embrace change; do the right thing; do things right; and have a passion for winning. Our past and future successes would simply not be possible without our strong ownership structure and value system. They unite our associates and engage our organization.

2009 was a banner year in living and celebrating our values. As I reported at our Shareholder’s Meeting and referred to in many past journal entries, some of our milestones and achievements included:

- Celebrating our first ever “Values Day” companywide
- Hosting 45 “Wawaversary” celebrations throughout our communities
- Recognizing more than 3,248 Associates as Values Champions
- Awarding more than 84 million “Goose Bumps” to Associates for above and beyond performance in their stores
- Publishing our first Values Storybook, showcasing the best values stories of the year
- Celebrating 137 General Managers and Area Managers at our annual President’s Club, a special annual retreat celebrating top performers in the company, which took place in Puerto Rico this year

Our values are alive and well and our commitment is never wavering. So far, in 2010, we have several examples of how these values are stronger than ever: our commitment to be the new title sponsor of Philadelphia’s Welcome America July Fourth Celebration; the celebration of our saving customers more than $1 billion with billionth surcharge-free ATM transaction parade; and the launch of two major initiatives for us:  Green Goose, our new sustainability strategy and Fit to Fly our Associate Wellness program.

I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months about our commitment to adding value and values to our customers and associates daily lives.

‘Till next time…