Thorntons president to head US convenience store group

Tony Harris, who in July was promoted to President of the US-based convenience store chain and fuel retailer Thorntons Inc, will now also be chairman of the National Advisory Group beginning in 2015.

According to Convenience Store Decisions, a publication associated with the National Advisory Group, Harris will replace Mary Banmiller, the director of retail and hotel operations for Warrenton Oil Co. who also headed the association for a two-year term.

“Tony Harris is a great leader and has always been willing to share information and experiences, which is what we do at NAG,” Banmiller said, according to a report by a publication by the convenience store group named Convenience Store Decisions dated December 4 which announced the change.

Thorntons currently operates some 175 gasoline convenience stores, car washes and travel plazas in six states: Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee.

The National Advisory Group is part of The Convenience Store Decisions Group. THE NAG describes itself as a retail trade association aimed at small, mid-size convenience and family-owned convenience store chains, the group said.