PCATS Pioneers Honored, Remembered

John Hervey and Teri Richman were inducted as the first members of the PCATS/Convenience Store News Technology Hall of Fame

NACStech this year marked the debut of the PCATS/Convenience Store News Technology Hall of Fame, honoring industry pioneers who advanced the cause of the convenience and fuel retailing industry through the development and use of technology standards.

The industry turned out in force on the second night of the conference to celebrate and fondly remember two of its biggest champions, John Hervey and Teri Richman, as they were inducted posthumously as the first members of the Technology Hall of Fame.

Hervey had a long and distinguished career in the industry before joining NACS in 2000 as its chief technology officer. After PCATS was spun off from NACS in 2003, he was named executive director of the newly formed association and guided its growth and standards adoption work until his retirement in 2009. During his tenure at PCATS, Hervey's guidance and expertise helped develop today's commonplace industry standards, including point-of-sale and back-office integration, electronic B2B document exchange, payment systems and device integration.

"John had a talent that was both technology and human based" recalled Gray Taylor, current executive director of PCATS, who presented the Hall of Fame awards. "John made sure that everyone's interests were served, and everyone saw value in being a member of PCATS."

Hervey's wife, Hettie, and his two children, James and Elizabeth, accepted the award.

After what he called "an up-and-down year," James Hervey said it was nice to have this moment and hear the memories everyone has of his father. "It's a fitting tribute," he added.

Richman joined NACS in 1982 as its first in-house federal lobbyist. Over the course of her 20-plus years with the association, she was involved in nearly every major industry issue and initiative, from defeating beer-gas bans in the mid-1980s, to improving store security in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to introducing technology standards in the mid-1990s, to fighting outrageous credit card fees with the founding of the Merchants Payments Coalition in 2005.

"When you argued with Teri, you better have had a better data pool than her, because she did her research," Taylor said, before presenting the award to her children, Nathan and Katharine.

Nathan Richman said even in her last days, his mother was talking about the credit card fees and what NACS was doing. "It means a lot for us to be here and see her second family," he said.