After he graduated from high school in 1994, Shawn Milligan started working at a Holiday Stationstores location in his Minnesota hometown.

His first promotion came after three months. His most recent one marked his 30-year anniversary with the company. He is now a regional director with Circle K (which acquired Holiday Stationstores in 2017).

Shawn also met his wife when they both worked as store managers in Minneapolis. She still works for Circle K in the company’s recruiting department.

“For someone who graduated high school and had no idea what they were going to do in life, this turned into a really great career,” he said.

Shawn spoke with NACS Magazine about:

Why he loves working in convenience

Every day is different. You never know what’s going to happen, so every day can be exciting. And, of course, our business is always changing, so there’s always something new to do and you’re not going to get bored.

And up until this current role as regional director, it’s never been a desk job. You’re out in the field, you are involved in your stores, and for the most part, you set your own schedule once you get to the district manager role, so there is a lot of flexibility. It was very conducive to me for living my life and raising a family. I could work around my kids’ sports games or events. It can be a very rewarding and flexible career.

Why he’s stayed in the convenience industry for 30 years

It’s really been about the people. I’ve built a lot of relationships, we always work together as a team and we have formed some great friendships. The people I have worked with here have really made it a great place to work, so I’ve stayed for that and the culture here at Circle K.

Holiday was a family-owned business and this company still feels family run to this day. We really treat each other well here, support each other and are one team. Plus, it’s fun!

Why he’s proud of his career

I am certainly proud of being with the same company for the past 30 years. You don’t hear people say that very often. I either picked or walked into the right opportunity, let’s say.

Another big accomplishment that I am certainly proud of is making it to the regional director position. Over the years, I’ve also helped a lot of other colleagues advance, whether it be assistant managers to the store manager position or store managers to a district manager position. I’m really proud of the people that I have mentored along the way to help them move forward along the same path that I have been on.