Last night, I attended the Montgomery County 5th Fire District's Awards ceremony. It was just past 6:00PM when I pulled into the wet parking lot in the rain. As I prepared to go inside I was jolted by sudden noise of the sounding alarm.  In an instant, a flurry of activity took place, as volunteers responded immediately to the call, driving off in the pouring rain before I could even make my way inside.

This unexpected emergency really put things in perspective for me.  While most people were home, relaxing and eating dinner, these volunteers were poised and ready to respond in a seconds notice, no matter what the conditions or the time of day.  What's more, they do it for free, in a time when our nation's economy is battling to stay afloat.

These folks give unconditionally. They sacrifice time with their own families for the greater good. They truly care about their communities. They provide an example for everyone, and at Wawa we strive to follow their lead. We feel a special bond with our local heroes as their commitment to "valuing people" and "doing the right thing" are two of our core values that help define our corporate character.

So it's an understatement to say that I was humbled to be a part of an event where these brave firefighters and emergency responders come together to honor and recognize one another.

The event gave me a chance to thank our local heroes for making our lives better, a concept that hits close to home.  At the heart of Wawa's convenience offer is our commitment to making people's lives better.  Something I have learned throughout the years is that convenience does not exist in a vacuum. It's not simply about speedy service or low cost. It's much more than that.  Whether it's pouring someone's morning cup of coffee, or responding to a person in need of emergency assistance, for us convenience comes down to making people's lives better. And we are committed to that on a daily basis.

 Al Novak, KYW News Reporter and President of the Montgomery County's 5th Fire District, asked me to speak at this ceremony, due in a large part to the long history of support Wawa has with the volunteer responders in each of the communities we serve.  At the event Novak said, "Wawa has done tremendous stuff for us. When we had our disaster drill, they gave us food and refreshments, and the same goes for our annual water battle competition... 'They can't do enough for you.' "

Well to Al, these brave first responders and the communities we serve I say, we're going to keep pushing to do more, to be even better community partners and to make their lives better. After all, that's what convenience is all about.

Till' next time...

Front Row (L-to-R): Steve Coll-Firefighter of the year, Judy Dailey-Special Merit Award,Robert Rau-Earl Mayers Award,Chief William Goltz -Presidential Award, District Chaplain Reverend Thomas Byron
Back Row (L-to-R):  Howard Stoeckel -Wawa CEO-&-Pres, Al Novack-5th District President

I've always been a big believer in staying young at heart. This mindset promotes an open mind, and leads to change, creativity and innovation. I'm a firm believer that when we stop being young at heart, we stop changing, and when we stop changing, we no longer grow.

Change, however, is a scary thing. So I can't help but feel nervous as I enter uncharted territory - writing my first post on what I hope will become a widely read journal on convenience. After all, convenience and the creation of unique customer experiences is what we stand for at Wawa. So while entering cyberspace is a bit scary, I find myself channeling my inner youth, and more than anything, feeling excited. I am excited to use this medium to speak to all the Wawa customers, friends, and family about our unique culture, our unique offering and our unique ability to provide convenience on every level.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should back up for a moment and introduce myself. I'm Howard Stoeckel, and I'm the lead goose at Wawa (aka President and CEO). Our corporate symbol is the Canada goose, and I try to make flying a little easier for our Associates and customers. I have held this position since 2005, and have been part of the "flock" at Wawa since 1987, holding various positions throughout the company during this time. I'm happily married with two daughters, a stepson and four grandchildren.

I am humbled to be part of a caring Wawa family that is more than 16,000 associates strong. I continue to be impressed by the wonderful actions of our associates, who make Wawa a place where ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. I consider myself among these ordinary people. In fact, for many years my claim to fame was that I graduated from high school. I wasn't the captain of the football team, nor was I in the honor society. But early on I adopted the philosophy of thinking big and thinking young. I even keep this oversized crayon in my office, to remind me to think big in order to make big things happen. And this is just what we do at Wawa. We think outside of the crayon box to create a customer and associate experience unlike any other.

So in the journal entries to come, I hope to give all of you a new perspective on convenience, culture, and on what Wawa is all about - simplifying your lives.

'Til next time...