OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — The Outlook Leadership conference—presented by CSP magazine—is recognizing three companies for extraordinary leadership in the convenience-store and retail petroleum industry. These inspiring companies are Cumberland Farms, NOCO and QuikTrip.

Previously named the Environmental Stewardship Awards, the 2015 Catalyst Awards acknowledge leaders who facilitate a positive entrepreneurial spirit. The awards will be presented during the Outlook Leadership conference, held November 14-16 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Representing their companies to accept the awards are:

• Gwen Forman, senior vice president of marketing at Cumberland Farms, Framingham, Mass.
• Michael F. Newman, executive vice president, NOCO, Tonawanda, N.Y.
• Troy Devos, director of real estate, QuikTrip, Tulsa, Okla.

Attendees of this session will have an exclusive opportunity to learn about the leadership these companies have demonstrated and the steps each took to get to their goals. The Catalyst Awards presentation will occur during the morning General Session on Sunday, November 15, sponsored by GreenPrint LLC.

“We are thrilled to recognize true leaders who pioneer and promote technological, emotional and physical betterment,” said Myra Kressner, senior vice president and general manager of Winsight Events. “We are in a sea of catalytic leaders fostering change to systems and processes they can improve, and Outlook Leadership embraces and engages with this catalyst environment. Highlighting these outstanding companies is just one of countless ways Outlook Leadership helps propel attendees and their businesses to new heights.”

About the 2015 Honorees:

Cumberland Farms

In a contrarian move, New England’s largest convenience-store chain saw Obamacare not as a great evil but as an opportunity to truly become an employer of choice. While many retailers looked to cut workers’ hours, Cumberland Farms did just the opposite—to pursue a 100% full-time roster of employees in which every single employee receives health care. The move has greatly enhanced the pool of job candidates, reduced turnover and raised the overall morale at this family-run chain.

NOCO

When NOCO began designing its newest convenience store, the company embraced sustainability. The leadership on environmental design not only creates a better customer experience, but also values the role c-stores have in marrying what’s right for business with what’s right for planet Earth.

QuikTrip

Demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo., just over one year ago destroyed many businesses downtown, including a QuikTrip convenience store. Instead of simply rebuilding, the company donated the site to the Urban League to help Ferguson residents get the necessary training for jobs. QuikTrip also provided support to all employees from that store and promised them all employment within the company—it’s doing the right thing.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Winsight LLC (formerly CSP Business Media) is a market-dominant, business-to-business media and information company specializing in the convenience-store retailing, restaurant and noncommercial foodservice industries.

Winsight Media has an extensive media portfolio of leading publications, including CSP, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director and Convenience Store Products, a suite of digital products including websites, e-newsletters (including CSP Daily News and Restaurant Business Daily) and webinars, as well as video products, mobile and tablet apps, custom marketing solutions and the convenience-store retailer intelligence tool, CSPedia.

The Winsight Events group produces six exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferences—Restaurant Leadership Conference, FARE Conference, Outlook Leadership, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC and MenuDirections—in addition to more than 12 major EduNetworking conferences and advisory meetings.

Winsight recently acquired Technomic Inc., the leading provider of primary and secondary market information and advisory services to the food industry.