Mark is a seasoned business leader, a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, and a dynamic communicator. He worked for one of the world’s great organizations for almost 45 years. Mark began a nearly 45-year career at Chick-fil-A as an hourly team member (and 16th corporate employee) and recently retired as the Vice President of High Performance Leadership. 

Jeff Lenard oversees industry-wide external communications campaigns to advance the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve. He also serves as lead spokesperson and has conducted more than 6,000 media interviews about trends and innovations at convenience stores. In addition, he is the creator and co-host of the association’s award-winning weekly podcast, Convenience Matters.

Prior to joining NACS in 1999, Lenard served in communications and marketing functions for several energy-focused associations. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. in marketing from Syracuse University.

Chrissy Blasinsky is the digital and content strategist at NACS. She has been with the organization for over 21 years. She joined NACS as the manager of communications and as managing editor of NACS Magazine. She transitioned to the strategic communications team and works with a diverse team on social media and content strategy for NACS communications platforms. Chrissy also manages the NACS Ideas 2 Go video series that debuts each year at the NACS Show, and serves as a subject matter liaison on industry topics related to foodservice, inside merchandise and food safety.