Last week, we held our annual Shareholder’s Meeting, a tradition that gives us the opportunity to come together and discuss our challenges and successes over the past year, and exciting plans for what’s to come.  This year was particularly special as we returned to our roots in honor of our 45th anniversary, and brought our meeting back home—literally.  Rather than hold the meeting off site as we have done for the past several years, everyone gathered instead under a big-top tent on the grounds of Red Roof, our corporate headquarters here in Wawa, PA.  And while it rained throughout the meeting, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of associate owners and founding family members in attendance.  

People often wonder about our stock in light of the fact that we are a private company.  As you know Wawa is family owned and operated, and the majority of our company stock is still owned by the founding family.  In addition, more than 8,000 Wawa Associates participate in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and collectively have a 28% ownership stake in the company. 

The bond between the founding family and our associates is fundamental to Wawa’s core values and success.  It’s one of the ways we have continued to grow and thrive throughout the years.  Our annual meeting allows us to highlight this bond.  It also serves as a hallmark of what sets our company apart – our unique ownership structure and our vibrant culture. 

During the meeting we reviewed our business results with our owners, celebrated our 45th anniversary and reported on our continued plans to value and engage our associates who serve and connect with our customers.  And while it rained outside of our meeting tent, we reflected on another “storm” we weathered last year – the turbulent economic conditions of 2008.  Thanks to the loyalty of our customers and associates, we were able to work through the challenges of last year, and position ourselves to provide customers with value and consistency during these difficult times.

At the meeting we shared plans to deepen our connection with both our associates and our customers.  We are engaging our associates through Town Hall Meetings and Share the Vision Tours throughout 2009 to focus on listening to, learning from, and sharing information with our associates. This year we are also dedicating resources to strengthen our online presence via interactive microsites, Facebook and social media applications, online advertising, and this very journal, in an effort to communicate and converse with our customers in more ways than ever before.

We concluded the meeting with a dinner and reception featuring traditional Wawa food favorites that have played an important part in building our food service offer through the years, as well as some of our new food items showing our continued commitment to innovation.

So, during last week’s meeting we celebrated the weathering of two storms – the rain that poured down on our meeting tent and the turbulent conditions that our dedicated flock rose to the occasion to fly through during 2008.  And even though the rain came down hard during our meeting, our “flock” of associates and shareholders saw light breaking through the cloudy, dismal economy, and we all saw brighter skies ahead.

‘Til next time…