The $1,000 grants for NAG members will help offset the rising cost of education.
As the founder of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, John MacDougall was a longtime supporter of the National Advisory Group (NAG). In his personal life, he was also a strong supporter of higher education. MacDougall passed away in 2014. To remember his work and his longtime support of NAG, the association is proud for the third year to present the John MacDougall/NAG Memorial Scholarship to NAG members.
For 2017, NAG awarded five $1,000 scholarships to members who work in the convenience store industry or are children of an employee of a NAG member company.
This year’s scholarship winners are:
• Kiely Barker, Clifford Fuel. Kiely is going into her junior year at Nazareth College in Rochester pursuing a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. She spends her semester breaks working in her hometown store, Taberg Cliff’s Local Market. Kiely works alongside the store manager, Shaun Barker, who is also her father (pictured).
• Alex Carnicom, FriendShip Foods. Alex is a junior at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio. He is majoring in law enforcement and will intern in his field of study this year in Washington, D.C. Alex also played for the Tiffin University football team the past two seasons. His father Robert Carnicom, works for FriendShip Foods in Freemont, Ohio.
• Chase Hamilton, Tri Star Energy/Daily’s. Chase is a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in business administration. He graduated from Sycamore High School in 2017, where he was a three-sport standout in football, wrestling and soccer. Chase also served on the student council and was the director of the Sycamore School Advisory Council. Chase’s dad Rick Hamilton works for Tri Star/Daily’s in Nashville, Tenn.
• Loreta Murataj, Gate Petroleum. Loreta is a junior at Penn State University in University Park, Pa. She is a science major. Loreta is active in the Jacksonville, Fla. Police Athletic League (PAL) and an avid golfer. She is an employee of Gate Petroleum, where she has worked for the past four years while on break from her studies.
• Jolene Servais, Kwik Trip. Jolene is an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville who is majoring in business administration. She was the valedictorian at Arcadia High School in Wisconsin earlier this year where she also played in the school orchestra. She was also the recipient of the American Legion’s Good Citizen Award. Her father Paul Servais works for Kwik Trip in La Crosse, Wis.
The NAG scholarship fund was developed to help qualified individuals offset the rising cost of higher education. Among NAG’s core mission is to help groom the convenience store leaders of tomorrow. In keeping with that theme, NAG created this scholarship fund for employees and children of NAG member companies.
“The John MacDougall/NAG Scholarship Program is important to NAG because college graduates earn, on average, earn $25,000 more per year than someone with just a high school diploma, according to a report by The College Board,” said John Lofstock, NAG’s executive director and vice president of The Convenience Store Decisions Group. “The cost of attending college may seem daunting, but that’s exactly why finding, applying for, and receiving scholarships are essential to avoid big student loans. Scholarships are no longer a bonus; they’re crucial for bridging the gap between the increasing cost of tuition and what families can afford to pay out of pocket. Congratulations to this year’s winners.”
For more information on NAG and the NAG Scholarship Program, please visit www.nagconvenience.com, and be sure to mark your calendar for the 2017 NAG Conference in Nashville Sept. 10-13.
About the National Advisory Group (NAG)
The National Advisory Group (NAG) was conceived in 1982 by former retailers who were concerned that other associations and conferences for retailers were oriented towards larger chains. After 35 years, the NAG mission remains the same: to help convenience store retailers interact with each other to discuss new concepts, share information and come away with innovative ideas to grow sales and profits. The foundation of NAG remains its world-class Informational Exchanges, which allow retailers the opportunity to connect with other non-competing retailers in an intimate setting that is conducive to learning new ideas and fresh perspectives.
NAG’s role in today’s competitive convenience store industry remains unquestioned. There is a void in the channel for this type of passionate organization, composed of executive level retailers from small, mid-sized and family-owned chains. NAG remains an organization that is fully committed to its members, promotes relationships, networking, intimacy and, most importantly, executable ideas and takeaways. To learn more about NAG membership, contact Executive Director John Lofstock at [email protected].