NACS as we know it today stands on three pillars: Knowledge, connections and advocacy. However, it didn’t start out that way. When the founders of NACS first got together at the Hotel Muehlebach in Kansas City, Missouri, in August of 1961, it was all about connections. Entrepreneurs in this fledgling industry wanted to meet their peers and share their thoughts about what they were doing. They also wanted to have an opportunity to meet some of their suppliers (and … hopefully … have them pick up the bar tab).

From that humble beginning, NACS evolved into a functioning association and began providing the resources that a growing industry required. Specifically, knowledge. In the 1970s, the NACS education department began producing training videos, workshops and seminars on a wide range of topics including crime, foodservice, management, fuel sales and “train the trainer.” Later, the NACS research department began collecting industry data and producing the State of the Industry Report® and hosting an annual SOI Summit.

Advocacy didn’t really make an appearance until the early 1980s, when Teri Richman was hired as NACS’ first government relations employee. At that time, there was a nationwide concern over drunk driving. Legislative bodies of all sizes proposed some very sensible ideas to address the very real problem. Unfortunately, some of the ideas were not so sensible, including the proposal to ban alcohol sales at businesses that also sold motor fuel. These “beer/gas bans” were started in California and quickly spread to state capitals around the country. In 1984, Teri hired me (NACS’ second government relations employee). My job was to build a coalition of convenience store operators to fight these proposed bans. I spent most of the year in California creating Food and Fuel Retailers for Economic Equality (FFREE), bringing NACS members from across the state to lobby in Sacramento. We ultimately defeated the initiative in California, and the other states quickly shelved theirs.

The success of FFREE was an eye-opener. As an industry, we realized the power we have when we work collectively for a mutual goal. There are convenience stores on street corners of every Congressional district in America. What potential! NACS began investing more resources into our government relations department, where today we focus on national issues in Washington, D.C. (We also work closely with the many state and regional associations that represent the convenience and fuel retailing industry around the country, assisting them with industry data and holding a monthly call during which we all share legislative updates and ideas.)

The NACS government relations team represents the industry within the halls of Congress and federal agencies, as well as works to facilitate engagement between our members and their elected representatives.

The NACS government relations team represents the industry within the halls of Congress and federal agencies, as well as works to facilitate engagement between our members and their elected representatives. Through events such as our NACS Day on the Hill, NACS In Store, and our legislative calls to action, as well as our political action committee NACSPAC, we continue to concentrate the power of our industry to proactively push the NACS legislative agenda.

But advocacy doesn’t just mean government relations (for more on that, see Jeff Lenard’s article “Telling the C-Store Story”). Advocacy is standing up for something you are passionate about. That’s what we at NACS do every day, in every department and in so many different ways. And it is a lot of fun … especially when YOU win!!