ALEXANDRIA, VA – Thirty years ago, a unique supplier membership club was created at NACS to honor the association’s former executive director, Harry Hunter.
The Hunter Club, according to NACS Director of Supplier Relations and Hunter Club Liaison Matt Danzig, was designed to serve as a comprehensive level of supplier engagement, meeting the needs of companies that seek an enhanced presence in the convenience and fuel retailing industry. Even the club’s fox logo is a tribute to Hunter’s affectionate nickname, the “Silver Fox.”
“The concept of the Hunter Club was simple — develop a way to allow suppliers to support the association with funding throughout the year without creating a system where top visibility events are financed by individual company sponsorships,” Danzig said. “Members of this exclusive, elite club not only provide NACS with financial support, but thought leadership as well.”
Original company sponsorships from 30 years ago helped to fund parts of the NACS Show expo and educational programs in their early days, as well as advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. Three of the Hunter Club’s charter members included Topps Chewing Gum, Donruss Company and Leaf Confectionary.
Some of the businesses from the class of 1982 have since disappeared or have been acquired by other companies, including Sav-A-Stop Inc., Stroh Brewery Company, American Tobacco Company and Globe Communications, while nine of the original 26 remain: Coca-Cola Company (formerly Coca-Cola USA), Frito-Lay Inc. (now part of PepsiCo Inc.), McLane Company Inc., Miller Brewing Company, PepsiCo Inc. (formerly Pepsi Cola Company), Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Time Warner Retail Sales & Marketing (formerly Time Distribution Services) and UST (formerly U.S. Tobacco Company).
These original nine companies have since been joined by other industry suppliers that participate at either the Gold, Silver or Bronze level. Three levels of Hunter Club membership allow suppliers to select benefits most aligned with their business objectives, including additional opportunities for exclusive access to leading retailers in a business-building environment, exclusivity, access to retail customers and the elimination of traditional sponsorships.
Today, Hunter Club membership includes private networking events with retailers, special placement of ads, priority NACS Show booth selection and more.