Love's Employees 'Share the Love' to Mark 50th Anniversary

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is celebrating a milestone by giving back to the Oklahoma City, the community it calls home.

In an event aptly called "Share the Love," more than 500 Oklahoma City-based corporate employees will spend Valentine's Day spreading goodwill by volunteering in the Oklahoma City community.

Gov. Mary Fallin and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett issued proclamations declaring today "Love's Day" to recognize the company's commitment to service and its 50th anniversary. Cornett and state Sen. David Holt (R-Bethany), who presented Fallin's proclamation, made the declarations in front of hundreds of Love's employees at a pep rally at the company's headquarters Friday morning.

"It's exciting to celebrate 50 years of Love's," said founder and Executive Chairman Tom Love. "The proclamation is an accolade to our past, but we're not resting on what we've accomplished. We will build on the momentum of this milestone to move Love's forward. We couldn't have reached this level of success without the support of our loyal customers. We're proud to be able to give back through 'Share the Love.'"

To mark the occasion, Love's employees split up into two volunteer groups; morning volunteers packed food boxes at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to be distributed to area families, and afternoon volunteers mentored children at the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County.

"We wanted to say 'thank you' to the community in a big way. It's our 50th anniversary and we wanted to celebrate by doing something special," said Jenny Love Meyer, vice president of communications. "Love's has a strong history of community involvement. We believe in building relationships within communities through efforts like this."

Community service is a cornerstone of the locally based retailer. For example, after the May 20, 2013 tornado in Moore, Okla., employees were given the opportunity to complete eight hours of tornado relief volunteer work during company business hours. Love's donated $3 million to support immediate and long-term relief efforts, and Love's underwrote the nationally televised concert "Healing in the Heartland," which raised more than $6.5 million for long-term tornado relief efforts.

In addition, Love's supports the Oklahoma City community by sponsoring various organizations, including the Oklahoma City Thunder and other local professional sports teams and college athletic programs, as well as the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the Oklahoma City Zoo and more. Love's is also a strong advocate for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and has raised $9.5 million in 15 years in support of the organization.

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is a family-owned and -operated company with more than 310 locations and 180 Love's Truck Tire Care centers in 39 states.