In this month’s NACS Magazine column “The Big Question,” we spoke with Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer, Casey’s General Stores.

What does being an advocate for our industry mean to you?

In this industry, there’s such a frequency of interaction. We feel such a connectedness to our guests and to our communities. And so that’s why when there are things that are threatening to the industry, or that would be disruptive to a great guest experience, we’re going to passionately advocate for our position to be heard.

At Casey’s, it really comes down to living our purpose, which is to make life better for our communities and guests every day. Advocacy is one of the avenues that allows us to ensure we are best positioned to do that consistently in all the different communities where we operate.

We have a significant impact on the local economy, on the state economy. Given the number of transactions in our stores, the amount of revenue that our stores generate and the taxes that revenue also generates, we feel it’s critical for us to remain engaged, particularly on things that impact our ability to serve our guests in those communities.

About half of Casey’s stores are in towns of 5,000 people or less. I do not think you can overstate the importance of our stores in these towns as we quite literally are the center of those communities. Our store managers become kind of de facto town mayors and that situation creates a deep sense of responsibility for that manager and for that store team because of what their service represents to their neighbors. That sense of responsibility is shared throughout the entire Casey’s organization, and I think you see that in how we show up as a brand.

To continue reading, check out the February 2024 issue of NACS Magazine.