Romy SinghPresident

Sanket AcharyaVice President

Deep KhanguraTreasurer

Naresh KumarSecretary

Ankit KordiaDirector

Shellie FountainDirector

Raj MasandDirector

Board Members

Committees

I would like to thank everyone who put their faith

in our Franchise Owners Association (FOA). It’s been three years since we first formed our association, and I’m pleased to say that we are moving forward in a very positive direction. This is only happening because of the support of our franchisees, and I thank you all for that.

I’m really excited about the launch of our newsletter. This publication is the best and easiest way for us to communicate with all of you. With the help of this newsletter, franchisees will be able to share their thoughts, feelings and insights with other franchisees. This FOA newsletter will be YOUR VOICE. Through our newsletter, we can convey our concerns and issues with upper management and ask for assistance and resolution whenever needed.

Not all FOA leaders will speak up on behalf of their franchisees at National Coalition meetings. We always have and we always will. Open and honest dialogue is very important for a successful partnership. Over the past three years, the lines of communication have been open with our operation team, our zone leader, and all market managers. Because of this, I’m happy to say that we did resolve most of our franchisees’ concerns on the local level. We spoke and they listened.

Every business has its challenges. The best we can do is to try to find resolutions and do whatever we can to fix things and make them right.

The challenges we face as franchisees are very real. From opening of competitor stores like Wawa and other 7-Eleven stores right across from our stores, to the increase in minimum wage, we all feel the pressure. We’ve all had some sleepless nights worrying about our future. It’s not easy to run a 24-hour operation, but I strongly think with the help of SEI’s strong infrastructure, we will overcome any obstacles we would face in the future.

But, through it all, your EVA FOA leadership is there to support you. Our top priority is to speak

on your behalf. I can proudly state that we have communicated and resolved many franchisee issues since our association first formed.

We are strongly connected to the National Coalition and they pass our concerns to the right individuals who can make things happen. From your EVA FOA membership fee, we give $5 per member/per month to the National Coalition so they can represent us properly, and I’m happy to say that they do.

Most recently, our FOA joined the Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA). We are working with them to ask law makers to pass strong pro-franchisee legislation in the state, so all franchisee’s rights gets protected.

I also need YOUR support to strengthen this FOA.If you are not part of the EVA FOA, I encourage you to join us. Please ask your fellow franchisees to become members. We are not simply a “trade show” FOA. This is a real FOA that represents its members to the fullest. Your membership is very important for the ongoing growth and strength of our organization. I would like to request that all of you become part of this mission.

In closing, I would like to take a moment to recognize some of the folks for their time and dedication in getting the EVA FOA to this level: Julia, Sanket, Puneet, Jessica, Deep, Raj, Ali, Gagan, Vaibhav, Ravee, Deepak, Paul, Maria, Carrie, Ankit, Naresh, Shellie, Jessica, Sherry, and Alisa. Every one of them was there for me whenever I needed their help, and for that I am deeply grateful.

Thanks to them and to YOU for helping to build a strong and productive FOA.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, issues or concerns at 757-506-5926 or evafoa@gmail.com.

Message from Romy Singh

Julia MaupinChairwoman

Merchandising CommitteeMember NBLC

Jessica FischerChairwoman

Franchisee HelpFranchisee Committee

Member NBLC

Puneet DheerChairman

Finance CommitteeMember NBLC

Gagan GrewalChairwoman

Community OutreachCommittee

Member NBLC

President, EVA FOAEastern Virginia Franchise Owners Association

Premier Issue

STAY UNITED AND STAY STRONG.

Please be sure to save the dates and join us for the following EVA FOA meetings and events. As more details become available, we will be sure to share them with you. Your attendance and participation is so important, as EVA FOA activities provide excellent opportunities for networking, sharing ideas, gaining support and growing your business. Please make every effort and do your best to join us! If you have any questions, please call us at 757-506-5926 or email us at evafoa@gmail.com.

Attention Franchisees - Please Save the Dates

EVA FOA General MeetingWednesday, May 20th

EVA FOAC Trade ShowTuesday, April 21stSee the inside spread and the back page of this newsletter for all the details!

Community Appreciation DayWednesday, November 7th

EVA FOA General Meeting Tuesday, October 27th

1. Create an Accounting Case2. Click on Accounts Payable3. Choose Subclass FOA4. VENDOR is EVA FOA5. In the last BOX, please write the following: I authorize 7-Eleven to deduct $20 per month to become an EVA FOA member.6. Once you are enrolled, please text your case number to 757-506-5926.7. As soon as we receive your text, we will send you a $50 Gift Card to thank you for your membership!* Each additional store is $10 per month.

If you’re not a member of the EVA FOA, now is the time to become one. Our FOA is growing stronger every day, thanks to the membership of franchisees like you! Becoming a member is easy. Simply visit our website (www.evafoa.com) and click on the ABOUT US tab to download and print the form. Or, follow these easy directions:

Dear Members & Prospective Members,

I hope this note finds you in good health with prosperous business. This is a first publishing of our newsletter Patriot Pages, and what can I say? I couldn’t be more happier that now we have a place where we share opinions and thoughts on ways to improve our business. So, I say to you all, write your hearts out!

Now lets talk about our organization, Eastern Virginia Franchise Owner’s Association, where the slogan is, “members serving members.” Which really is how the association is ran by its members’ voice. When this FOA was created, its only sole goal was to help the franchisees, new and old alike. I joined as a member on day one, because I believe that all franchisee should get an equal voice and also as board member see to it that everyone does.

Our president Romy Singh has been a role model to me, who has accomplished more than any other organization that I have belonged to. He has created a bridge between SEI and the franchisees that has given so many positive changes to franchised system. He also has worked with FM to help communicate with franchisees better to streamline the cost of maintenance.

Finally, I would like to thank all the members who has faith in us for past four years. So, Thank you. Keep supporting us. Also, spread the word to those whom haven’t joined our FOA.

With Best Compliments,Ankit K. Kordia

Are You a Member? Join The EVA FOA Today!

If you have questions, please call the EVA FOA at 757-506-5926. We’re all about “Members Serving Members.” Allow us to serve you!

EVA FOA Member’s Meeting in Richmond, VA Thursday, June 4th

EVA FOA Holiday Party!Friday, December 4thGet ready for a fabulous event to celebrate the joy of the holidays and ring in the New Year!

EVA FOA PicnicSaturday, August 15thAll franchisees, store managers, families, friends, Field Consultants, Market Managers and Zone Leaders are invited to attend. This is sure to be a fun summertime event!

last, without the sales to even out the inventory, it will cost you in gross profit. Some of you do watch the inventory levels, but try to control them by not ordering product the last week of the month. This costs you in out of stocks, lost sales, and irritated customers. So, you are trading GP% for sales and customer good will. Instead of doing this, look at your minimums for the top 20 items of each category and make sure they are correct, (do this each change of season, not every week), and order using the system. Personally, I do not use the Got for all ordering. We scan in sections and order from the back room. The whole order can be completed in 90 minutes this way, controlling labor, but ordering with correct information. I keep a folder by my ISP with all of the pre-books I have ordered, and check the folder each order cycle to ensure that I do not order candy bars, snacks, etc. that are coming in on a pre-book. With the exception of wine (too many SSI’s that will not come up in category), I do not allow vendors to write my orders. But, my wine vendors discuss the order with me every week prior to sending in the order. They do not have cart blanche to order whatever they want to order. Vendors have agendas and goals to meet. I will not store product for them so that they can meet their goals. I order based off of what my customers buy.

Other Important Points…CigarettesThis is a major issue because of when the drop shipments hit our store and the quantity of the drop shipment. This is an issue that is being discussed with the cigarette companies by SEI. In the meantime, talk to each rep from each cigarette company about what is set for your store to receive. In some instances, you can change the quantity of the drop shipments. Each store is set for a different quantity, but can be adjusted down to the lowest amount to ensure that you still receive all buy down monies that you do not want to lose. Your reps can also email you on your personal computer with the links to see what is coming and on what date. This will allow you to adjust your regular order accordingly. I make sure that my employees know to put out discounted cigarettes first, and when they come in, I stack all promos on top of the regular cartons to ensure that this is what they pick up first. It helps when scanning in for the counts, and since we are not yet BT, we can add the promos to our counts to ensure we do not reorder.Customer Service, In-Stocks, and Store CleanlinessWe cannot be at our stores 24/7 to ensure good customer service, and that the store is kept to the standards we want on different shifts. But, we can review video to make sure this happens. I always have the prior day video running when I am in the office doing paperwork, or just working on something. If something catches my eye, I will review it completely

Dear Fellow Franchisees,Today I would like to address the most important issue we are facing in our stores today…GROSS PROFIT. I want to discuss this honestly, with some suggestions to help increase GP%, that will then increase GP $’s. But, before I begin, I want everyone to know that this is and has been something that I work on constantly in my store, and with my SEI partners, at the store level and on the NBLC.First, every store is different. With a couple of exceptions, you cannot take one action and expect it to work in every store. You, as the Franchisee, need to look at all aspects of your business, your competition, and your surroundings and then decide what will work better for you.

Here Are My Thoughts...7-Select and Go! Yum Products I have been with SEI through the whole process of 7-Select products. I was not a big advocate in the past of them, due to the quality of the product. I would order in 1 each of all new items to stay off of the list, and then delete the sku. Now, I am taking full advantage of the higher GP% and the sales, not because SEI has asked me to, but because the quality of the product is first rate. The Go! Yum line of products is extraordinary, and the products that are to come in the future are exceptional. The packaging is eye catching, and above standard, with the product better than what the regular vendor brings. A lot of work has been done to ensure customers will like and return to purchase these items. This is a quick and easy win for all of us and I urge every Franchisee to take advantage of the higher Gross Profit of these items. Open some and try them. Open some and sample them to your customers. You will be very surprised at the results.

Ordering and Controlling Inventory

Bottom Line: If you purchase more this month than

and then address issues as they come up. When I first started this, it was amazing what I saw. Hot food made at the beginning of the shift and never touched again. Selling food that I would not give to my dog. Employees on their cell phones talking while waiting on customers, or making the customers wait until they finished a conversation on the phone, or with a fellow employee before waiting on the customers. Coffee bars dirty. Floors dirty, because employees will mop the floor so that the next shift doesn’t complain, not because the floor is dirty. Employees outside talking to friends, or smoking, while the line of customers is wrapped around the store, and only one register ringing. Employees writing off product from the grill and the hot food case, and eating the product without ringing it up. Hitting cancel age instead of asking for ID’s. Employees standing around talking to each other instead of pulling back stock or fronting and facing the store. You cannot sell product from the back room and someone has to bring it out and put it on the shelf. To get the gross profit, we have to have the sales! How many customers come in our stores on second and third shift, and never return due to dirty stores, poor customer service, or poor quality of food or coffee? We have the tools to verify, we just need to use them. S-18’s, M01’s and Bill Back/Scan Back ReportI personally cannot manage all of this myself and do it well. I have trained my Assistant Manager to do this, and I check it myself periodically. I pull my MO1”S every day and scan it for something that pops, and pull my final bill back/scan back report every month and look at it in detail. I open cases as needed, and write them down so that I can follow up. Following up is a big part of getting things fixed. My assistant is in charge of S-18’s, and there are numerous mistakes constantly on them. Once a week, she is scheduled to review the prior week reports and adjust what is needed and scan them in. How much can this affect GP? She was out sick the last week of December, and my wine invoice was retailed wrong. It was a 4% swing on GP% from one month to the next. If you are not looking at this report, it is costing you in GP and shortage while increasing your inventory incorrectly. If you decide not to fix the retail that is too low to help with your shortage, it is costing you in GP dollars. I print my promo sales report and compare the sales to the final bill back scan back report to ensure I received what I should have. I also print the individual sales plan sheets and keep them to refer back to, so I can make sure all bill back, scan backs, and off invoice credits are keyed correctly. Important! Starting in April, if any bill backs, or scan backs are entered for a month, and on the next month it is found that too much was given, SEI will eat the difference. There will not be any more adjustments made on the next month, taking away credits. If a

By Julia Maupin,Chairwoman - EVA FOA

Merchandising CommitteeMember NBLC

credit was not given in the prior month that was supposed to be given, we will receive those. This does not include cigarettes, as they are different. Daily bill backs and scan backs will also show by vendor on the MO1’s instead of lumped together. This change came from your NBLC members bringing this as an issue, and SEI hearing us and fixing the problem.D25 Report and Employees Checking in Vendors When CDC arrives at your store, the high profit items on the front manifest are supposed to be checked in together by the employee and the CDC driver, and any discrepancies noted on the front page. We then adjust the differences. If you are missing a case of anything, you will need to look at your D-25 report the next day to ensure that you received credit for that item. If the driver fails to turn in the manifest, or if your employee failed to write the shortage in the comment section, there is a good chance that the CDC office did not accept the correction, and it will be kicked out as “store signed for different quantity.” This means you did not get the credit for that product. This creates shortage for the store and lower GP due to a higher cost, but no sales. If this happens, print off the report, and scan the report along with the manifest sheet to Action 3. Write it down so that you will follow up with the MO1 to ensure you receive credit for it. If it doesn’t show up on the MO1 within 5 days, open a case. When you are looking at your video to ensure 2nd and 3rd shifts are working to your standards, not theirs, watch your employees to see if they are actually checking in the totes and trays of CDC items after the driver leaves item by item. Do they have the invoices in their hands when checking in donuts, or do they just open up the cellophane wrap and put the donuts in the case, and then put check marks on the CDC page? Missed adjustments due to employees not checking in McLane and CDC, or any vendor, results in shortage and a higher cost, therefore lowering GP.Non-Recommended Vendor Items, Custom Retail Pricing and Price ChangesI am a big advocate of unique items from non-recommended vendors, because it gives me sales I would not normally get, and I get new items that hit the market quicker. But, I will also tell you that sometimes it is time consuming in managing these items. Too many times when I periodically review the invoices, I see that a vendor has increased the cost of an item without telling me. So, instead of a higher GP, I am supporting them by buying items with a lower GP than I thought. I move all non-recommended items to recommended vendors as soon as I can. This also happens for non-recommended items from recommended vendors. We get price changes for our recommended vendors, and recommended items, and it is very important to review and accept, and then complete the price changes weekly, printing correct shelf tags. If you do not have your price changes set up to automatically accept them, and you do not go in weekly to review

and make decisions on them, a custom retail is set up for the price you have set. This can result in you selling items in your store at a lower retail than the rest of the market place. Every store should be pulling and reviewing their custom retail price report at least monthly, if not weekly. Look at your retails compared to the suggested retails, and go in and fix problems. To get this report, go to custom retail pricing, enter any category and hit report, select all categories, and then print. My FC has this listed on a “things to do monthly agenda” to help remind us to do this. Special Items Counts at AuditWhen your store is audited, the auditor counts sleeves of cups, bags of coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate, full boxes of creamers, and bag in box fountain and slurpee. This is done to calculate usage of cost of sales items for your next three months of financials. If it is incorrect, it will affect your financial for three full months! You get the special items count to verify, prior to the auditor leaving the store. On my last three audits, I have found mistakes in the count. Missed cases of cups, or an inaccurate count on bibs or coffee. Always lower than what it should be. If I had not caught the mistake, it would have resulted in accounting thinking that I had used more of these items than I did, and my cost of sales would have been higher, resulting in a lower GP. When I know I am being audited, I instruct my sales associates, three days before the audit, to only fill cups when the entire holder is empty, or a whole sleeve will fit. I do not want half sleeves under the coffee counter just sitting, because these do not get counted on the special items count. Only full sleeves and full boxes of creamers. This special items count sheet is important, and should be verified on every audit by you or your manager, and corrections for miscounts made prior to the auditor finishing your audit. I also verify the counts of 2 -3 sections behind the auditor. My assistant and I go out and actually count 3 sections and retail out the counts, then verify the counts that the auditor has. I should never count more than the auditor. If I do, I count more sections. If I find that I am continually counting more than the auditors, and this is verified, I call the auditors supervisor. One other thing that I do on every audit is put my assistant manager with the auditor that goes in the vault, and I stay with the auditor counting my back room. This way, I know that everything is counted. It has resulted in lower shortage in my store, and better counts. I always count cigarettes behind the auditor, and have just recently started counting cigars.

Now let’s talk about individual stores and what should be different for each store. I will say this again: Each store is different and each franchisee needs to make decisions based on his or her store’s environment.

Custom Retail PricingIt would be very easy for each store to go in and set a higher retail on all of the items in the store, and then get a higher GP. But, you have to manage all of them, and since it takes a lot of time to manage, it doesn’t get managed, which eventually cost us in the long run. You will also start to be known by your customers as a price gouging store. Especially if you have another 7-Eleven close to you. So, what do you do? Take a day, ride your competitor’s stores with a specific list, and check pricing! I do this monthly on the alcohol category. I have a spread sheet that I made listing all of my alcohol items and competitors, and I go and check the prices in my area. I check a grocery store, Mom & Pops, and three 7-Elevens, along with a major convenience store. Then I analyze the information and make a decision.Sometimes it is higher than SEI’s recommended price, and sometimes I match SEI’s price. I know my store, my customers, and my competition, and I make an informed decision. One size does not fit all. And, you cannot do this once and then leave it. You have to stay informed in order to stay competitive.Accepting and Running PromosI brought it up in the General Session of the NBLC last month that bill backs and scan backs start with correct sales plan sheets and new item pages. All of the information, including all bill back, scan back and off invoice information listed on those pages needed to be correct and all inclusive when we receive them. This will allow us, as business owners, to make good business decisions on carrying a new item, or participating in a promo. I will not tell any operator what to do or what not to do when it comes to promotions. This needs to be decided by store, after you have checked your competition and looked at the promo. Maybe you need to run the promo, but custom retail it, or if you have new competition for your store, then maybe it would be best for you to run every promo to drive customer counts up. This is a decision that needs to be made by you monthly, based off of your circumstances. I personally print the single pages of any new sales plan and go over every page, and then make decisions that are best for me.

SummaryAs you can tell from this article, GP dollars are affected in more ways than just sales and inventory. It takes a lot of work to get and keep a higher GP, and the GP can be affected by more than just the cost on a page. Having someone trained to help you look at and analyze reports to find and fix mistakes is a must in every store. It is a continuous process. I hope this helps you now and in the future.

You are welcome to email me at julroninc711@gmail.com

with any questions or comments regarding this article.

5-Hour ENERGY7-11 Franchising Department7-Select ProductsAdvanced Pierre FoodsAltadis USA Premium CigarsAltriaAmerican Dr. PlanAONArgo TeaBig IdeaCanada DryClear Waters

Coca-ColaConAgra FoodsDelmarva WirelessFM Facility MaintenanceFrito-LayGatoradeGeloso Beverage GroupHampton Roads TransitHeinekenHerr’s SnacksHershey’sLittle Debbie

Logic Premium Electronic CigarettesLogisticsLoss and PreventionMarva Maid DairyMike’s Hard LemonadeMonster EnergyMorris NationalMovies U BuyNationwide InsurancePepsi & PepsiCo WarehousePerfetti Van MellePhusion Projects

Red BullS&G DistributorSand PeddlerSanta Fe NaturalShah and Patel Snyder’s LanceSwedish MatchSwisher InternationalThe Hoffman GroupUnilever BrandsVirginia Beach BeveragesYuengling Brewery

36244648161518174027

12

32455

1931302

133

343539

118

106

33252350

374

38229

49265114471

44417

Booth # Vendor Booth # Booth # Booth #Vendor Vendor Vendor

EVA FOATradeshow Floor

Tuesday, April 21stHilton Garden Inn

100 E. Constance RoadSuffolk, VA 23434

42 + 43

20 + 21

28 + 29

5-Hour ENERGY7-11 Franchising Department7-Select ProductsAdvanced Pierre FoodsAltadis USA Premium CigarsAltriaAmerican Dr. PlanAONArgo TeaBig IdeaCanada DryClear Waters

Coca-ColaConAgra FoodsDelmarva WirelessFM Facility MaintenanceFrito-LayGatoradeGeloso Beverage GroupHampton Roads TransitHeinekenHerr’s SnacksHershey’sLittle Debbie

Logic Premium Electronic CigarettesLogisticsLoss and PreventionMarva Maid DairyMike’s Hard LemonadeMonster EnergyMorris NationalMovies U BuyNationwide InsurancePepsi & PepsiCo WarehousePerfetti Van MellePhusion Projects

Red BullS&G DistributorSand PeddlerSanta Fe NaturalShah and Patel Snyder’s LanceSwedish MatchSwisher InternationalThe Hoffman GroupUnilever BrandsVirginia Beach BeveragesYuengling Brewery

36244648161518174027

12

324551931302133343539

118

10633252350

374

38229

49265114471

44417

Booth # Vendor Booth # Booth # Booth #Vendor Vendor Vendor

EVA FOATradeshow Floor

Tuesday, April 21stHilton Garden Inn

100 E. Constance RoadSuffolk, VA 23434

42 + 43

20 + 21

28 + 29

For your convenience, below is a list of the EVA FOA leadership team.Please feel free to contact any of us at any time. We are here for you!

Did You Know?

www.evafoa.com

LIKE us on Facebook

I wanted to congratulate you and the Eastern Virginia FOA for launching your newsletter, The Patriot Pages. In our ever changing system and changing business environment, it’s critical that we communicate at every level possible. Your newsletter will definitely help franchisees stay connected and help their business. With your passion for franchisee causes, and your objectivity towards the 7-Eleven system, I am confident that it will be very successful. I look forward to contributing to your newsletter in the near future.

There’s nothing more beautiful than a dream in bloom! On behalf of the National Coalition and franchisees across the system, congratulations for your official launching of the Patriot Zone newsletter!

In less than three years, your FOA has done so much! Congratulations to Romy and his entire Board of Directors for their many accomplishments, including the creation of this newsletter. I know how important open and honest communication is to you and your team, and your newsletter will be a wonderful way to share important information with your fellow franchisees. Wishing you great success with this publication!

I would like to congratulate you and your FOA board for publishing the first issue of The Patriot Pages. I believe communication among franchisees is very vital, especially in our business which is changing at a much faster pace than ever before. And, there is no better vehicle to reach the franchisees than a newsletter. I am excited to read the first issue of your FOA newsletter and wish you all a very successful and prosperous year. Stay united and stay strong.

My sincere congratulations to Romy Singh and the EVA FOA on the launch of their newsletter. As planner for the FOAC’s newsletter for the past seven years, I know how much work goes into creating a publication, and I commend you for developing a newsletter for your region. I’m sure it will be very successful!

Meet Your EVA FOA Leadership Team!

Jivtesh GillExecutive Vice Chairman, NCASEF

President, Central Valley FOA

Jas DhillonVice Chairman, NCASEFVice President, FOAGLA

Maninder WaliaTreasurer, NCASEF

President, Pacific NW 7-11 FOA

Hashim Syed Vice Chairman, NCASEF

Vice President, FOAC

Ken PatelPresident, FOAC

Romy SinghPresident evafoa@gmail.com 757-506-5926

Julia MaupinChair CoordinatorMerchandising CommitteeMember NBLCjulroninc@gmail.com

Puneet DheerChair CoordinatorFinance CommitteeMember NBLCdhirpuneet@hotmail.com

Gagan GrewalChair CoordinatorCommunity Outreach CommitteeMember NBLCgagangrewal1975@gmail.com

Jessica FischerChair CoordinatorFranchisee Help CommitteeMember NBLC711fischerenterprises@gmail.com

Hassan Rabbani Member NBLChassan-rabbani@hotmail.com

Sanket AcharyaVice Presidentsanketacharya@yahoo.com630-962-4892

Deep KhanguraTreasurerkhangurajatt@hotmail.com

Shellie FountainBoard MemberShellie.fountain@earthlink.net

Raj MasandBoard Memberrajmasand4@gmail.com

Naresh KumarBoard Memberlistvirginia@yahoo.com

Ankit KordiaBoard Memberkordia@gmail.com

All five NBLC members are part of the EVA FOA and convey your issues and concerns directly to SEI in an effort to resolve them.The Eastern Virginia FOA, established 3 years ago, has members from Fredericksburg, Virginia to North Carolina, including all three markets in the Hampton Rhodes/Beach area, as well as Richmond, Virginia. The EVA FOA has produced two consecutive, very successful trade shows. We have also hosted numerous FOA meetings, and have established an excellent line of communication within our FOA and with SEI. All EVA FOA meetings are open to all Franchisees whether you are a member or not. Please join us!

July 27 – 31Navy Pier

Will You Be There?

Chicago Hosts the 40th NCASEF Convention and Trade Show!

Chicago Hosts the 40th NCASEF Convention and Trade Show!

Yes, it’s true! The NCASEF (National Coalition of 7-Eleven Franchisees) has chosen Chicago as the destination for its 2015 convention and trade show!

“This is an extraordinary honor,” said Ken Patel, FOAC president. “We are looking forward to working with the NCASEF leaders to create an event that will showcase our city and all that it has to offer.”

The convention will run from Monday, July 27th through Friday, July 31st. The trade show, which will be a combined effort between the NCASEF and the FOAC, promises to be the biggest and best ever, and will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 30th and 31st at the spectacular Navy Pier.

The FOAC annual Charity Golf Outing is also a joint venture with the NCASEF, and is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29th at St. Andrew’s Golf and Country Club.

“We’re excited to come to Chicago,” said Joe Galea, NCASEF chairman. “Chicago has been on our radar for a while now, and we’re thrilled to be hosting the 2015 event in such a world-class city,” he adds. “We’re looking forward to seeing all of our franchisees and welcoming them to our 40th convention and trade show.”

Important Phone Numbers From Your EVA FOA7-Eleven Franchise Sales Reps FM Maintenance Service Reps

Jack Sykes757-510-1542

Kevin Jones 804-432-6610

Lee Boucher540-316-7065

Serving Markets 2516-2515-2531

Serving Markets 2516-2511-2515-2531-2799

Serving Markets 2511-2514-2532-2799

Will work on reducing credit card fees

Less promotions with more gross profit

Improve franchisee & franchisor relations

User-friendly reports

High quality products in our stores

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Northern, VANancy Wade 410-952-9100Nancy.wade@7-11.comDesi Desormeaux717-437-5759Desi.desormeaux@7-11.com

North & South Carolina Brian Mulcahy239-691-6057Brian.mulcahy@7-11.com

Virginia Beach – Hampton RoadsKadir Arslan 757-361-3252Kadir.arslan@7-11.com

15 year contract with no renewal franchisee feesHigher gasoline commissionLower rates on maintenance contractsKeep working hard on resolving franchisees’ issues

If you have any issues or concerns, please see us at Booth #19.

EVA FOAThe Patriot Pages3314 West Ave Newport News, VA 23607

The first 100 franchisees to enter the show will receive a $25 gift card! If you place 15 orders, you’ll get another $25 gift card!Be there at 12:30 SHARP - Cocktails and Dinner from 5 to 7 pm

See the inside spread of this newsletter for a complete list of vendors and booth locations. We look forward to seeing you!

Congratulations on the launch of the Eastern Virginia Franchise Owners A s s o c i a t i o n newsletter, Patriot

Pages. I appreciate this opportunity to briefly share with you some thoughts for your first issue.

We’re off to a good start in 2015 across much of the U.S. Despite the challenges you’ve faced in Eastern Virginia with weather comparisons to last year, you’ve still driven positive sales increases, and several markets have sales over 3.0% to last year.

Across the U.S., our same store sales have been +7.7% in January, +7.1% in February, and +7.5% in March vs. last year. Those are strong sales numbers, and I see momentum building in many areas of the country. Great News!

While you have yet to see these types of comparison sales numbers in your area, you’re growing. And, I know that you, and the team in Eastern Virginia, are committed to growing your

businesses as our peak selling period (the 100-days of summer selling season) gets closer.

To build on our positive momentum together, we’ll continue to focus on executing our five priorities across the company.

► Grow our Food and Beverage Business

► Expand our Assortment

► Build our Private Brands

► Simplify Store Operations

► Connect and Transact Digitally

We’re also working on improving our Servant Leadership culture (defined as Serving Customers and Supporting Stores).

At the Store Support Center in Dallas and across 7-Eleven, Inc., we’re striving to provide you with improved support so you can continue to work on growing your sales. As Franchisees, you deserve strong and continued support from 7-Eleven, Inc., and we’re committed to that.

Finally, in the spirit of better supporting you, 7-Eleven, Inc. is working to ensure more open, honest, and direct communication with Franchisees.

To that end, this year, we’ve implemented a new Communications team. Their jobs will be to share more information with you in a timelier manner to improve communications. I’m confident you’ll start seeing more informative, effective, and engaging communications coming from 7-Eleven, Inc.

I wish everyone in the Eastern Virginia Franchise Owners Association continued success in 2015. Happy Selling!

Our Annual Trade is Show is Right Around the Corner!Tuesday April 21st

The Hilton Garden Inn • 100 East Constance Road – Suffolk, VA

Meet the vendors! Get incredible deals! • Best pricing of the year! • RAFFLES – RAFFLES - RAFFLES

A Message from Joe DePintoPresident and CEO of 7-Eleven

Oh Thank Heaven,Joe DePinto