We all know the importance of a well-educated workforce and the convenience store landscape is certainly no exception. The National Advisory Group (NAG) Scholarship Fund was developed to help NAG members looking to further their careers and help their children offset the growing cost of a college education.
As the founder of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, John MacDougall was a longtime supporter of NAG. In his personal life, he was also a strong supporter of higher education. To remember John’s work and his support of NAG, the association is to award six John MacDougall/NAG Memorial Scholarships.
For the 2019/2020 school year, NAG awarded scholarships totaling $6,000 to the following students:
Andrew Haefele
* Andrew Haefele, Baldwin Wallace University, Class of 2023. Andrew is a biology major at Baldwin Wallace. His mother, Laurie Cutcher, works at Truenorth in Brecksville, Ohio.
* Quint Kearns, Rowan University, Class of 2023. Quint is studying engineering at Rowan. He works at Wawa’s Lanoka Harbor, N.J., location.
* Melanie Montgomery, University of Dubuque, Class of 2022. Melanie is majoring in communication and works at the Kwik Trip #765 in Dodgeville, Wisc.
* Ryan Pohorenec, University of Rochester, Class of 2022. Ryan is a chemistry major at Rochester. He works for Clifford Fuels in Rome, N.Y.
* Atilla Toth, University of North Florida, Class of 2020. Atilla will graduate next year with a degree in marketing. He works at Gate Petroleum in Jacksonville, Fla.
From left: Quint Kearns, Melanie Montgomery, Ryan Pohorenec, Atilla Toth
* Shae Wolfe, Dartmouth College, Class of 2020. Shae is a psychology major at Dartmouth. She works at Pony Express in Winnebago, Neb.
“The National Advisory Group’s Scholarship Program is important to NAG because college graduates earn, on average, $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. “The cost of attending college may seem daunting, but that’s exactly why scholarships are essential to avoid large student loans.”
Shae Wolfe
The NAG Scholarship Fund is managed by the NAG Board of Directors, Convenience Store Decisions and Scholarship America, and sponsored by the retailer and supplier members of NAG.
The program was started in the late 1990s and has distributed more than 100 scholarships totaling nearly $112,000 to deserving students. The fund is financed through annual dues collections by NAG members and drives from golf outings and conference sponsorship allocations.
For more information on NAG, please visit www.nagconvenience.com, and be sure to mark your calendar for the 2019 NAG Conference in Minneapolis, Sept. 8-11.
This year’s conference will feature speakers from a host of leading convenience store chains, including Wawa, GetGo, Sheetz, Verc Enterprises, Clark’s Pump-n-Shop, Jetz and many others. View the full agenda at NAG Agenda or register now for NAG at NAG register.
