Last night, I attended the Montgomery County 5th Fire District's Awards ceremony. It was just past 6:00PM when I pulled into the wet parking lot in the rain. As I prepared to go inside I was jolted by sudden noise of the sounding alarm.  In an instant, a flurry of activity took place, as volunteers responded immediately to the call, driving off in the pouring rain before I could even make my way inside.

This unexpected emergency really put things in perspective for me.  While most people were home, relaxing and eating dinner, these volunteers were poised and ready to respond in a seconds notice, no matter what the conditions or the time of day.  What's more, they do it for free, in a time when our nation's economy is battling to stay afloat.

These folks give unconditionally. They sacrifice time with their own families for the greater good. They truly care about their communities. They provide an example for everyone, and at Wawa we strive to follow their lead. We feel a special bond with our local heroes as their commitment to "valuing people" and "doing the right thing" are two of our core values that help define our corporate character.

So it's an understatement to say that I was humbled to be a part of an event where these brave firefighters and emergency responders come together to honor and recognize one another.

The event gave me a chance to thank our local heroes for making our lives better, a concept that hits close to home.  At the heart of Wawa's convenience offer is our commitment to making people's lives better.  Something I have learned throughout the years is that convenience does not exist in a vacuum. It's not simply about speedy service or low cost. It's much more than that.  Whether it's pouring someone's morning cup of coffee, or responding to a person in need of emergency assistance, for us convenience comes down to making people's lives better. And we are committed to that on a daily basis.

 Al Novak, KYW News Reporter and President of the Montgomery County's 5th Fire District, asked me to speak at this ceremony, due in a large part to the long history of support Wawa has with the volunteer responders in each of the communities we serve.  At the event Novak said, "Wawa has done tremendous stuff for us. When we had our disaster drill, they gave us food and refreshments, and the same goes for our annual water battle competition... 'They can't do enough for you.' "

Well to Al, these brave first responders and the communities we serve I say, we're going to keep pushing to do more, to be even better community partners and to make their lives better. After all, that's what convenience is all about.

Till' next time...

Front Row (L-to-R): Steve Coll-Firefighter of the year, Judy Dailey-Special Merit Award,Robert Rau-Earl Mayers Award,Chief William Goltz -Presidential Award, District Chaplain Reverend Thomas Byron
Back Row (L-to-R):  Howard Stoeckel -Wawa CEO-&-Pres, Al Novack-5th District President