OMEGA News - OMEGA - West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association

Details: Press; May 15, 2015

morgwomyear Sandra Morgenstern, President & CEO of Par Mar Oil Company, operators of Par Mar Stores, has been selected as one of only five women nationally to receive the “Women of the Year” recognition by Convenience Store News.

Convenience Store News, in collaboration with the Network of Executive Women and the Top Women in Convenience Advisory Board, chose the recipients based on their exceptional impact on the success or direction of their company, as well as their positive impact on the convenience store industry.

“We’re incredibly proud of Sandra and the recognition she’s received as a Woman of the Year in the convenience industry,” said Jan Vineyard, president of the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association. “She’s an integral part of our organization and our industry. Her leadership, dedication and passion for the Par Mar Company and her employees is unmatched.”

Morgenstern has been with Par Mar for thirty years and provides daily leadership in the operation, management and all other phases relating to the convenience store and oil industry. The Par Mar Stores chain has grown to fifty convenience stores and fifteen quick serve restaurants while employing more than 750 individuals in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Under Morgenstern’s leadership, Par Mar Stores have become very active members of the communities in which they operate. She was instrumental in developing and implementing Par Mar Stores’ Wednesday Wish Day (WWD) and the Draw for Success programs. WWD is Par Mar’s fundraising program for children on Christmas morning. The Draw for Success program partners Par Mar’s management teams with local elementary schools which allows students to learn about the history of Par Mar then using their artistic talents complete drawings based on what they learned. The drawings are judged by the school’s art teachers and the winning students receive a $50 recognition award courtesy of Par Mar. The company is also actively involved in supporting the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Relay for Life, Salvation Army, and Toys for Tots.

In addition to her charitable involvement, Morgenstern is actively involved in several industry trade groups, serving on the board for both the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association (OMEGA), and the Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association (OPCMA), as well as various advisory boards.

In addition to the five individuals that received “Women of the Year” honors, Convenience Stores News recognized more than fifty female managers, directors and executives who work in the convenience store industry in six categories. Those categories included Women of the Year, Senior-Level Leaders, Mentors, Rising Stars, Store Managers and Single Store Owners.

Details: Press; April 10, 2015

Kick off photo

With more than 4,000 West Virginia children in out-of-home care and 1,200 children in need of adoption, the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association (OMEGA) and the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia have launched their Fifth Annual “Every Child Deserves A Loving Home Campaign”. This statewide effort to raise funds for Children’s Home Society assistance programs will run April 10 through Mother’s Day, May 10.

Jan Vineyard, President of OMEGA, said, “Every child deserves a loving home, and there are too many West Virginia children living with crisis in the family. This campaign will provide funds to the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, which has shelters and assistance programs in every corner of the state, to help those children and families in need.”

West Virginia First Lady – and mother – Joanne Jaeger Tomblin kicked off the campaign from the Governor’s Mansion today by reading stories to children in the care of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia.

Details: Press; October 17, 2014

maw2014 The West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association (OMEGA), an organization representing convenience stores, independent grocers and petroleum marketers across West Virginia, in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, raised $126,230 to help grant the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening conditions during the month of August.

Additionally, the organization has raised over $247,000 in 2014 for organizations that help West Virginia children, and almost $2.1 million since 2003 for charities that improve the health, safety and wellbeing of West Virginia children.

Details: Press; September 23, 2014

Proclamation
by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin

Whereas, West Virginia law prohibits the sale of tobacco and other age-restricted products to persons under the age of 18; and

Whereas, the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association and the West Virginia Wholesalers Association will participate in "We Card" Awareness Month, a retail education and training effort to boost West Virginia retailers' awareness of and participation in responsible retailing efforts to comply with federal, state and local laws and identify, prevent and deny tobacco and other age-restricted product sales to minors; and

Details: Press; July 08, 2014

House Speaker Tim Miley (D-Harrison, 48) said state officials do need to address, what he calls, the “unintended consequences” of the the Above Ground Storage Act — the legislation written in response to the Jan. 9 Freedom Industries chemical spill that contaminated tap water in parts of nine counties.

“There are some consequences that impact, primarily, small operators that I don’t think were fully appreciated and considered as we were passing what many considered a monumental piece of legislation here in West Virginia,” Miley admitted on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”