At Wawa we are committed to being a good neighbor and to becoming an integral part of each community we serve. Since opening our first store in 1964, we have existed to simplify the lives of our customers, and we are always looking to extend this commitment to new communities, and to offer our unique, appetizing products and services to our ever-growing Wawa family.
 
The next two years will be extremely exciting for us. On behalf of our 18,000 associates, 9,000 of whom have a 30% ownership stake in Wawa through our ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), let me give you a look at what’s in store for Wawa and our communities.

This summer, we will officially fly south and enter new territory, as we open our first stores in the state of Florida, located in the greater Orlando area. This is the beginning of our migration south and the development of our new “Wawaland” in Central Florida.
 
www.wawa.com/florida

 We are also making exciting developments right here in our core market, with a commitment to reinvest in our almost 600 Mid-Atlantic stores, and through the creation of a pipeline of new stores. You will see part of this reinvestment take shape through our redesigned food service area, which will feature a fresh, new appetizing look.  Many of you will remember two years ago, we reinvested in our coffee area, replacing glass pots with new thermals and rebranding the area to bring our customers the freshest and most convenient cup of coffee available, in the most aesthetically pleasing way. Now, we will turn our attention to the food service area as we add new graphics and digital signage in all stores, and test the baking of rolls in approximately 40 of our stores. Later in the year, we will invest in all stores again – adding new equipment enabling us to add a full line of built-to-order specialty beverages including espressos and cappuccinos.
 
It’s our view that retailers who don’t change and remain relevant, run the risk of vanishing from the retail landscape. Who would have thought retail giants like Borders, Circuit City, and Strawbridge’s would disappear?  I started my career many years ago with John Wanamaker, who once dominated this market, and is now gone without a trace.
    
For us, change and reinvention is a solid part of our history.  So while we treasure our legacy stores still with us today, we could not continue to grow and reinvest back into our communities, if we were still building smaller stores without fuel.  We’ve been evolving to meet the developing needs of our customers for more than 200 years which is why we’ve been fortunate to call this marketplace our hometown since 1803.  We are proud to remain privately-held, locally-based here in the Mid-Atlantic, and owned in large part, by our Associates. Check out this video to learn more about our history of embracing change and the ways in which change has helped our company and your communities, to grow and thrive.
 

 
Looking ahead, we have plans to open 15 – 20 stores in our Mid-Atlantic market every year for the next several years. Some of these stores are relocations of older stores where we can improve the experience and offer, and some are new stores in areas we are currently under-serving. While the vast majority of people are delighted when we announce plans to open a store in their communities, we understand some community members have concerns about how these stores will impact them. We acknowledge and respect all of these opinions and I want to take this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to listening to our neighbors and communities and addressing their concerns head-on.  In fact, we continually hold open forums and town meetings to do just this.
 
We do not believe in a cookie cutter approach to entering communities and will always do what we can to modify plans and make enhancements to meet the specific needs of each community we serve. We will do everything in our power to demonstrate our commitment to being a good neighbor.  This is our promise!
We have much to offer your community and look forward to building lasting community partnerships and customer relationships and continuing to evolve to meet your needs. Ultimately our goal is to bring the jobs, the commerce, and community partnerships that will make us a true community asset in every area we serve. We look forward to seeing you soon.

“Till next time…

Now in its third year, Operation Brotherly Love is a holiday carnival that supports more than 400 Philadelphia-area families in need, and provides more than 1,000 children with personalized holiday gifts and brand new winter coats. I believe it has become one of the largest holiday events for families in need in the Philadelphia Region.  When you include the volunteers, Operation Brotherly Love touches more than 2,000 people from Philadelphia and the surrounding region.  It promotes a common vision of connecting with families and children in need, to create a happy holiday season for all. 

Wawa is a leading partner of this event, led by the efforts of Adam Schall, Wawa’s Planning & Analysis Director.  Every year, Wawa’s support and number of volunteers grows, and this year was no exception.

The event took place the weekend of December 10 at Urban Outfitters’ headquarters in Philadelphia, and this year the event grew so significantly that two carnival events were held for the children, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to accommodate all of the additional families included. This year, Operation Brotherly Love served families from the Mayor’s Office of Community Service, PAL (Police Athletic League), Big Brothers, and Big Sisters, and Northern Home.

The smiles from the children, families, and volunteers, show the fun and impact the event has on everyone attending. And do they have fun!  The highlight of the event is a full-blown carnival with all the trimmings! During the event, children are treated to carnival games, balloon artists, face painters, arts and crafts, dancing, entertainers and a family photo station.  Every child receives a brand new gift and a brand new winter coat courtesy of Operation Warm.

Although this is the third large scale event, Adam and a group of close friends started on a much smaller scale, reaching out to shelters, visiting them before the holidays, and bringing gifts, candy and most importantly, giving their time to show someone cared.  Today, the fundamental principle of sharing joy with others and helping those in need is still the foundation of Operation Brotherly Love.  The hundreds of volunteers attending experience that joy first hand, and they realize what a huge impact a little of their time has on the families attending.

This year, hundreds of Wawa family and friends attended and helped in various ways. From preparing and serving lunch, snacks and treats throughout the day – to hosting families and making sure they experience every fun element of the carnival, volunteers make the real magic of this event happen.

So, while the event has grown – doubling in size this year, so has the desire to share joy and inspire others to get involved, volunteer, look around them and see what they can do to have a positive impact within their community. I’m very proud of our Associates and of all the volunteers who make this event possible.

This holiday season, let Operation Brotherly Love inspire you to enact positive change within yourself and within the community.

‘’Till next time…

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/12/08/wawas-operation-brotherly-love/

We may have been experiencing winter-like temperatures here at Red Roof early last Friday morning, but all of us were warmed by the hearts and spirits of our associates helping to provide our troops abroad, with a taste of home.

 

On Friday, Nov. 18, close to 80 Wawa associates teamed up with members of the USO to provide our troops with a taste of home through the form of Wawa Care Packages.  Together, we all felt proud as we assembled these care packages filled with Wawa coffee, nuts and cashews as well as letters expressing thoughts and thanks from associates and community members.  It was especially meaningful for many of us from the area, as we knew that these care packages would be shipped to deployed military, primarily made up of units from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who are now serving in Afghanistan and Kuwait.  It was uplifting to know that our friends and neighbors, who serve our great country each and every day, would have a little taste of the familiar, right in time for Thanksgiving.

This event is all part of a larger care package shipment called Operation Stocking Stuffer, an initiative organized by USO of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey (Liberty USO) who will send thousands of care packages to our troops. After two hours of care package creations, our event ended with a bang as military Humvees drove off with the packages to the Horsham Air Station, where they would be added to larger packages and then shipped to deployed military.

For all of us at Wawa, this event was part of our long commitment to support our troops, and in our small way, say thank you.  We have been sending coffee at the request of soldiers since 2002, and throughout the years, have sent thousands of shipments of coffee to help boost our troops’ morale and their alertness!

This summer, we partnered with the USO for our Wawa Welcome America! celebration and had a special letter writing station at our Hoagie Day extravaganza.  This partnership allowed us to sponsor care packages which were sent over the summer and included the customer letters written during Hoagie Day, thanking our troops for all that they do. 

We’ve received countless letters from the troops thanking us for providing a taste of the familiar, so we want all the troops out there to know, the coffee will keep on coming.  As Thanksgiving approaches, we give thanks to each of you who keep our great country safe. 

“Till Next time…