Why is sharing so important to you and the industry?
The best ideas come from people who are not my competitors, but they’re in the same business in different parts of the country. Not everyone does everything the best, but they may have a couple of things that they do really well. In our case, we do fountain drink really well, but we don’t do foodservice really well. There are many things that can make your business better to run and better for your employees. Study groups, sharing and networking can make a huge difference. Whether it’s in a study group setting or whether it’s just sharing with someone I met at the

NACS Show or through NACS, our industry is absolutely the best when it comes to sharing. In my own study group, some of the members are very honed in on their metrics and how to cut expenses, or somebody has a new product that I haven’t heard about yet. Now, if you listen to everything and don’t implement it, then it’s a waste of time. But most people are very good about sharing something that they do well. Sharing makes you a better operator.

Why is it so important to be a NACS member?
I think if you’re going to be in this business and stay abreast of what’s going on, just reading trade publications is not enough. You have to be actively involved and NACS brings those things to you on a daily basis.

What do you hope will kind of distinguish your term as chairman at NACS?
The big elephant in the room is [credit card] interchange. Obviously, we’ve been leading the charge for the retail industry and I would love to be the chairman who gets this issue taken care of. And we’re going to have to continue monitoring the FDA tobacco regulations at our stores. I also want to continue raising the level of engagement with our members — especially with the jobbers/dealers who supply a large number of stores but don’t directly operate the stores themselves, as well as the single-store operators.

What was it like interviewing Clinton at the NACS Show closing general session?
That is going to go right up there as one of those experiences you don’t get to do too often! I had a great time doing it. I felt like it was a one-on-one conversation, even though there were a few thousand people in the room with us. We stood on the stage and talked for a minute. His first comment — our industry needs to have a path forward on what we’re going to do to replace gasoline. He predicted that in five years, the Chinese will have an electronic vehicle that will sell for $25,000. Will convenience stores have to become charging stations? Our entire industry is going to have to think long and hard about what we’re going to do.