LAS VEGAS – NACS announced the election of its 2009-10 Executive Committee during its Board of Directors meeting at the NACS Show in Las Vegas.
Jay Ricker, president of Anderson, Indiana-based Ricker Oil Company, was named the association’s 2009-10 chairman of the board. Ricker also chairs the NACS Executive Committee, which provides strategic direction and financial oversight to the association.
Also named to the NACS Executive Committee were the following NACS retail members:
- Vice Chairman-Treasurer: Jeff Miller, president of Norfolk, Virginia-based Miller Oil Co. Inc.
- Vice Chairman of Research: Greg Parker, president of Savannah, Georgia-based The Parker Companies, elected to his fourth term
- NACS Vice Chairman of Government Relations: Tom Robinson, President of San Jose, California-based Robinson Oil Corp., elected to his third term
- Vice Chairman of Member Services: Nichole Torsey, president of Redding, California-based Mountain Counties Supply Co., elected to her second term
- NACS Vice Chairman of Convention and Events: Dave Carpenter, president and CEO of Urbandale, Iowa-based J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc., elected to his second term
- NACS Vice Chairman at Large: Patrick Lewis, partner of Twin Falls, Idaho-based Oasis Stop ’N Go Convenience Stores, elected to his first term
- NACS Vice Chairman at Large: Brad Call, general counsel and executive vice president of human resources, public relations and adventure culture of North Salt Lake, Utah-based Maverik Inc., elected to his first term
Here are biographies of the newly elected NACS Executive Committee members:
Jay Ricker is president of Anderson, Indiana-based Ricker Oil Company.
Ricker most recently served as the NACS treasurer and was responsible for overseeing the association’s financial plan.
A member of the NACS Board of Directors since 2000, Ricker previously served two terms as NACS vice chairman of convention and events and two terms as NACS vice chairman of industry relations. He also is a member of the NACS Government Relations Board Committee and the NACS Supplier Board, and a member of the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council.
Ricker Oil Company operates 49 convenience retail locations in Indiana, as well as a petroleum distributorship and other enterprises. The company perhaps is best known by its customers for its “Ricker Pop” beverages.
In addition to his service with NACS, Ricker is past chair of the BP Amoco Marketers Association, past president of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association and a current member of the Marathon Jobber Advisory Council. He is or has been active in a number of community groups including the Community Hospital of Anderson, the Community Hospitals of Indianapolis Network Board, the Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the Madison County Community Foundation and the Corporation for Economic Development of Madison County.
Ricker earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University.
Jeff Miller is president of Norfolk, Virginia-based Miller Oil Co. Inc.
As the NACS treasurer, Miller is responsible for overseeing the association’s financial plan.
Miller most recently served as the NACS vice chairman of NACSPAC, overseeing the efforts of NACSPAC, the convenience store industry’s political action committee. He also served three terms as NACS vice chairman of member services, where he oversaw the activities of the association’s Member Services Board Committee, which sets the strategic direction for NACS with regard to retail-membership value.
Miller Oil Co. operates more than 40 Miller Marts and Miller’s Neighborhood Markets, and an additional 100 dealer sites in Virginia and Florida, all of which sell motor fuels. The company also operates Miller Heating Oil, Heating and Air-conditioning, and Commercial Fuels.
Miller Oil Co. was founded in 1977 by Miller’s father, A.C. (Gus) Miller, when he purchased Exxon Company USA’s home heating oil business in Norfolk. Since then, the company has diversified and expanded in many directions. The company’s greatest growth took place during the 1980s, when the company made the Inc. magazine list of the 500 fastest-growing companies three times. It was during that time the company began its expansion into the convenience store and petroleum retailing business.
Prior to joining Miller Oil in 1981, Miller worked for American Café in Washington, D.C., from 1976 to 1981.
Miller is very active in the community, currently serving as chairman of the Norfolk D’Art Center, director and member of the Executive Committee of the Norfolk branch of Towne Bank and director and member of the Executive Committee of the Greater Norfolk Corporation. He is past chairman of the Hope House Foundation and served on the first NACS Coca-Cola Leadership Council.
Miller earned a B.A. in international relations and economics from American University.
Greg Parker is president of The Parker Companies, which operates Parker’s convenience stores and Parker’s Market Urban Gourmet.
As the NACS vice chairman of research and technology, Parker oversees the association’s Research Board Committee, which directs the association’s research and development initiatives and programs to promote the ongoing competitive viability of the channel.
The Parker Companies owns and operates 25 retail stores in southeast Georgia and South Carolina and an oil jobbership distributing BP, Chevron and the Parker proprietary brand gasoline, Supron. The company also operates Spin City self-service laundries, Urban Attic Self Storage and a real estate development operation. The family’s roots in the industry go back to 1912 when Parker’s great grandfather, James H. Rewis, became a commissioned agent with Standard Oil Co.
Parker’s Convenience Stores are characterized by lush landscaping, stylish architecture, generous lighting and cutting-edge technology to provide an enhanced shopping experience that largely focuses on female consumers. The company’s award-winning Parker’s Market Urban Gourmet, built in a renovated 1880s automobile service station, sells gourmet prepared meals, fresh baked goods, proprietary-brand flavored and gourmet coffee, and over 16,000 products. The Parker Companies also renovates historic properties for residential and commercial use, and has diversified into the high-tech, self-storage and customer-operated laundry industries.
Parker served the 2004-2006 chairman of the BP Amoco Marketers Association. He is chairman of the Savannah Master Plan Task Force, on the executive board of the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority and a member of the Mayor’s Crime Task Force. Parker is a 2005 recipient of the Savannah Urban Entrepreneur Award.
Parker is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
Tom Robinson is president of San Jose, California-based Robinson Oil Corp.
As the NACS vice chairman of government relations, Robinson oversees the association’s Legislative Committee.
Robinson Oil Corporation operates 34 Rotten Robbie stations and Mrs. Robbie’s Markets throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Robinson has been with the company since 1974. The fourth-generation company was founded in the 1930s and has been operating under the Rotten Robbie brand since 1973.
Robinson earned a B.S. in economics from Santa Clara University. He is past president of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) and is active in the California Independent Oil Marketers Association. He also is a member of 25 Year Club of the Petroleum Industry.
Nichole Torsey is president of Redding, California-based Mountain Counties Supply Co.
As the NACS vice chairman of member services, Torsey oversees the association’s Member Services Board Committee, which sets the strategic direction for NACS with regard to retail-membership value.
Torsey has been a member of the NACS Board of Directors since 2006. She previously served on its Industry Relations Board Committee and on its Convention and Events Board Committee.
Mountain Counties Supply Co. was founded in 1996 as the retail arm of Cross Petroleum, which was cofounded by Torsey’s father and uncle in 1972. Today, Mountain Counties Supply operates 13 convenience stores.
Torsey began her career at Cross Petroleum within its human resources and risk management operations. She has served as president of Mountain Counties Supply since its inception in 1996. Torsey also serves as vice president of human resources and risk management with Cross Petroleum.
Besides her involvement with NACS, Torsey is a member of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association. She earned a B.S. from Southern Oregon State College.
Dave Carpenter is president and CEO of Urbandale, Iowa-based J.D. Carpenter Companies Inc.
As NACS Vice Chairman of Convention and Events, Carpenter leads the activities of the NACS Convention Committee, which oversees the development and implementation of NACS events, including the NACS Show, one of the 50 largest annual tradeshows in the United States.
J.D. Carpenter Companies was founded by Carpenter’s grandfather in 1935. The company has been involved in many facets of the industry ranging from retail stores in Michigan and Iowa to multiple bulk fuel and propane plants to a petroleum terminal on the Mississippi River. The company divested those operations and started a new chain of retail stores called ShortStop. Today it directly operates eight ShortStop convenience stores and lease 12 locations to another retailer operator. Carpenter also operates five Soaks tunnel car wash locations, a common carrier business and three Prolube Oil Change Centers.
Carpenter has been a member of the NACS Board of Directors since 2002, and previously served as a member of its Member Services Board Committee and Research & Development Committee.
Carpenter is active in a number of state and community organizations, serving as former chairman of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, current member of the Liberty Banshares Executive Board and the Liberty Florida Bank board of directors. He also serves as the national chairman of the ConocoPhillips National Advisory Council. Carpenter earned a degree in business from the University of Iowa.
Patrick J. Lewis is partner of Twin Falls, Idaho-based Oasis Stop ’N Go Convenience Stores.
Lewis began his career in the convenience store industry in 1987 with Circle K Corporation. In 1995, he became a partner of Oasis Stop ’N Go Convenience Stores, a company serving customers at 11 Twin Falls-area locations. He is also the CEO of KickBack Points LLC, a customer rewards program provider founded in 2000 that is built around the convenience store industry. Today, retailers in Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah participate in the program.
In the community, Lewis is active with many local charities such as the Boys and Girls Club, Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He is also a member of National Association of Realtors and the Idaho State Board of Realtors.
Lewis, a resident of Twin Falls, graduated from George Fox University with a degree in management and organizational leadership.
Brad Call is a member of Maverik Inc.’s Board of Directors and serves Maverik as general counsel and executive vice president of human resources, public relations and adventure culture, which includes marketing, leadership development and recruiting.
Call was elected to the NACS Board of Directors in 2009 and has been a member of NACSPAC, the convenience store industry’s political action committee.
With 200 stores, Maverik is the largest independent chain of convenience stores in the inter-mountain west. Maverik was founded in 1928 by Call’s grandfather. Call earned a B.S in accounting in 1990 from Brigham Young University and a J.D.in 1993 from the George Washington School of Law. He served as Republican President at both institutions. Prior to joining Maverik full time in 1998, Call was employed as corporate counsel and director of congressional affairs for Fluor Corporation in Washington, D.C. In addition to his NACS activities, Call currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Beehive Bank.
The NACS Show, which runs through Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is ranked as one of the 50 largest annual tradeshows in the United States. For the most up-to-date news and information on the event go to www.nacsshow.com.
NOTE: Photos of these Board members are available upon request.