As many of you know and remember from past affiliation, The National Advisory Group (NAG) is a top organization of hard-working executives from small- to medium-sized chains whose mission is to help other convenience store executives build profits and relationships. This group meets once a year to share best business practices, operational improvements and revenue-generating ideas that address today’s business challenges.

Additionally, NAG helps to cultivate and groom the convenience store leaders of tomorrow. In keeping with that theme, NAG is proud to continue its scholarship fund for children of NAG members. The cost of higher education is frightening these days and shows no sign of letting up. As a father of four, I can appreciate the challenges of dealing with the high cost of education.

We all know the importance of a well-educated workforce and the c-store landscape is certainly no exception. The NAG scholarship fund will help qualified individuals to offset some of these costs.

The 2011 NAG Scholarship has also been renamed in honor of Wayne Levitt, former CEO of Gate Petroleum. Wayne and his company were active participants in the NAG association and his affinity for, dedication to and support of NAG has made the scholarship award possible. In showing our appreciation for Wayne’s efforts, the 2011 awards will be given in his honor. Here’s a quick look at the program’s particulars:

The Program. The National Advisory Group Scholarship Fund is managed by Convenience Store Decisions and the NAG Board of Directors, and sponsored by the retailer and supplier members of NAG. This program was started in the late 1990’s and has distributed nearly 65 scholarships totaling $70,000 to deserving students. The fund is financed through annual dues collections by NAG members and drives from golf outings and conference sponsorship allocations.

Eligibility. Applicants who work in the c-store industry must be employees or children of employees who have a minimum of one-year employment with a NAG member company. Applicants must plan to enroll in a full- or part-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school. Applicants who are current students or who have attended school within the past three years must have maintained a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

The Awards. Due to the generous contributions of NAG’s dues-paying members, we have increased the number of winners to five and have a healthy scholarship fund to ensure the college-age children of NAG member companies will receive financial assistance to pursue their goals of becoming the leaders of tomorrow. The program will utilize standard Scholarship America recipient selection procedures, including past academic performance and future potential, leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience and an outside appraisal.

Five awards of $1,000 will be granted. Awards are not renewable, though students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

We hope you’re able to take advantage of this program by becoming a member of NAG. For more information on both the scholarship and the association, please visit www.nagconvenience.com or www.cstoredecisions.com. And please be sure to mark your calendar for the 2011 NAG Ideas Conference, taking place in Savannah, Ga., Sept. 10-13.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at (440) 250-1583 or via email at [email protected].