The John MacDougall/NAG Memorial Scholarship awarded seven scholarships for the upcoming school year to NAG members and their children.
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 their children offset the growing cost of a college education.
Among NAG’s core mission is to help groom the convenience store leaders of tomorrow. In keeping with that theme, NAG has distributed more than 100 scholarships totaling nearly $111,000 to deserving students.
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 longtime support of NAG, the association is proud for the third consecutive year to award seven John MacDougall/NAG Memorial Scholarships.
For the 2018/2019 school year, NAG awarded scholarships totaling more than $7,000 to the following students:
* Kaylee Miller, Marist College Class of 2022. Kaylee is a biomedical sciences major at Marist. Her father Richard Miller, works for Clifford Oil Co. in New York.
* James “Patrick” Morgan (pictured), University of Georgia, Class of 2020. James is a finance major at Georgia. His father Jimmy Morgan, is the president and CEO of Morgan Oil Co., also in Georgia.
* Loreta Murataj (pictured), Penn State University, Class of 2020. Loreta is a labor and employment major and has been a Gate Petroleum employee in Florida for the past three years. She is one of three c-store employees awarded a NAG Scholarship this year.
* Holly Nye, West Virginia University, Class of 2018. Holly will graduate in Dec. 2018 with a marketing degree. Her father, David Nye, works at Truenorth in Ohio.
* Katie Suddarth (pictured), St. Louis College of Pharmacy, Class of 2026. Katie is studying pharmacology and currently works as a pharmacy technician for Walgreens. Her father, Richard Suddarth, works for Warrenton Oil Co., in Missouri.
* Jessica Weisensel, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Class of 2020. Jessica is an elementary education major at Wisconsin. She is working her way through college as an employee at Kwik Trip in Wisconsin.
* Shae Wolfe (pictured), Dartmouth College, Class of 2020. Shae studies neuroscience at Dartmouth and has spent the last three summers working at Pony Express stores in Nebraska. Her father, Andrew Wolfe, and aunt, Leisa Guerrero, also work for the Nebraska-based c-store chain.
“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 Direction. “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.”
NAG’s 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. This program was started in the late 1990’s and is financed through the annual dues paid by NAG members, the annual NAG golf outing and conference sponsorship allocations.
For more information on NAG and the NAG Scholarship Program, please visit www.nagconvenience.com, and be sure to mark your calendar for the 2018 NAG Conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Sept. 9-12.
This year’s conference will feature speakers from a host of leading convenience store chains including Kwik Trip, Cumberland Farms, Maverik, High’s of Baltimore, Stinker Stations and many more. View the full agenda at NAG Agenda or register now for NAG at NAG register.
