ALEXANDRIA, VA – Steve Loehr, vice president of operations support for LaCrosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip Inc., has been elected vice chairman of convention for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). He was named to this position on Oct. 8 at the conclusion of the association’s NACS Show in Atlanta. The NACS Show is ranked as one of the 50 largest annual tradeshows in the United States.

A member-driven organization, NACS is lead by its 30-member Board of Directors.

As NACS vice chairman of convention, Loehr leads the activities of the NACS Convention Committee, which oversees the development and implementation of NACS events, including the NACS Show. The recently concluded NACS Show drew nearly 22,000 attendees and 1,300 exhibitors covering 370,000 net square feet.  

Kwik Trip Inc. operates 370 Kwik Trip and Kwik Star convenience stores throughout three states. In addition to its corporate Support Center, which handles the administrative needs of stores, Kwik Trip owns a bakery, commissary, dairy, distribution warehouse and vehicle maintenance divisions. The third-generation, family-owned business opened its first store in 1965 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 

Prior to joining Kwik Trip 20 years ago, Loehr owned and operated a supermarket in the 1980s and worked for Gateway Foods of Pennsylvania, serving four years as its president. He is active in a number of industry groups, serving on the boards of the Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association and Wisconsin Grocers Association, and is a member of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA). Loehr also is a board member of Merchants Bank, Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and Western Technical College. He earned a B.S. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

In 2009, U.S. convenience stores had $511 billion in sales – nearly equal the sales of the country’s supermarkets ($556 billion) and the predicted 2010 sales in restaurants ($580 billion), and far greater than and drug stores ($218 billion). Overall, convenience stores accounted for one of every $28 spent in the country last year. In addition, there are 144,541 convenience stores in the United States – one per every 2,100 people. Other competing channels have far fewer stores, according to Nielsen TDLinx, such as supermarkets (35,612 stores), drug stores (37,654 stores) and mass merchandiser/dollar stores mass dollar stores (27,247).

Note to Editors: A photo of Steve Loehr is available upon request.