Sonja Hubbard, Tom Joyce to be Inducted into CSNews' Industry Hall of Fame

DALLAS -- Sonja Hubbard, CEO of Texarkana, Texas-based E-Z Mart, and Tom Joyce, vice president, customer and industry affairs for The Hershey Co., will be inducted into the Convenience Industry Hall of Fame at a gala reception and dinner this fall in Dallas.

The Hall of Fame was launched in 1987 by Convenience Store News with the induction of Chester Cadieux of QuikTrip Corp. Since then, the Hall of Fame has recognized convenience store industry pioneers and innovators from companies of all sizes, including James Keyes of 7-Eleven Inc., John MacDougall of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Inc., Dick Wood of Wawa Inc., and Steve Sheetz of Sheetz Inc. Supplier inductees have included Michael Irish of Philip Morris, Jerry Rose of McLane Co. and Joe Burke of Coca-Cola Enterprises.

The Hall of Fame induction will be held Nov. 16, in Dallas.

Hubbard, who in 2008 became the first woman chairman of NACS -- the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing, will be the first woman inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Hubbard's list of accomplishments and her service to the c-store industry is lengthy. As chairman of NACS, she was a tireless fighter for important c-store issues, especially unfair transaction fees charged by credit card companies. As CEO of E-Z Mart Stores, she has overseen a complete modernization of the 300-plus store chain. She is also a leader of numerous philanthropy efforts throughout E-Z's five-state market territory of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma.

She is also the first offspring of an industry Hall of Famer to be inducted. Her father, Jim Earl Yates, became a Hall of Famer in 1997, a year before a fatal airplane crash took his life.

Sharing the spotlight with Hubbard will be Joyce of The Hershey Co., who was selected for induction into the Supplier wing of the CSNews Hall of Fame by the same 40-member Blue Ribbon panel of industry peers and past inductees.

During his 34-year career with Hershey's, Joyce held a variety of positions including director, customer and industry affairs, division manager, southern U.S. broker network and division manager, diversified products. He is a five-time recipient of Hershey's President's Cup Sales Achievement Award. Joyce currently sits on the Supplier Board of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the Executive Board of the National Confectioners Association (NCA), the Retail Advisory Board of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), the Board of Directors of the American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) and various trade committees for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA).

He was inducted into the National Confectionery Sales Association's Candy Hall of Fame in 2003.

The well-known Joyce joins past supplier honorees, such as William Laufer of Anheuser-Busch, Jerry Rose of McLane Co., Steve Wolke of PepsiCo, and Joe Burke of Coca-Cola.

Last year's inductees were Carl Bolch, Jr. of RaceTrac Petroleum and Greg Gilkerson of PDI.

The Convenience Store News' Hall of Fame roster of retailer inductees includes:

2009: Carl Bolch, Jr., RaceTrac Petroleum
2008: Bill Douglass, Douglass Distributing Co.
2007: Alain Bouchard, Alimentation Couche-Tard
2006: William Krause, Kum & Go
2005: James Keyes, 7-Eleven Inc.
2004: Henry O. "Hank" Armour, founder of West Star Corp. and current president of NACS
2003: John MacDougall, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Inc.
2002: John Hansan, Sterling Stores LLC
2001: Bob Robertson, White Hen Pantry
2000: Don Lamberti, Casey's General Stores Inc.
1999: Fred M. Higgins, Minit Mart Foods Inc.
1998: Chris Girard, Plaid Pantries Inc.
1997: Jim Yates, E-Z Mart Stores Inc.
1996: Dick Wood, Wawa Inc.
1995: Steve Sheetz, Sheetz Inc.
1994: Richard Jensen, SuperAmerica Group
1993: E.L. "Steve" Stephens, Town & Country Food Stores Inc.
1992: Erich Wendl, Maverick Markets Inc.
1991: John and Jere Thompson, The Southland Corp.
1990: C. Alan Marsh, Marsh Village Pantries
1989: Robert Seng, Busy Bee Food Stores Inc.
1988: Charlie Nirenberg, Dairy Mart Convenience Stores Inc.
1987: Chester Cadieux, QuikTrip Corp.