WILMINGTON, NC – June 10, 2011 -- VPS Convenience Store Group, operator of the Scotchman Convenience Stores, held its 28^th Annual Summer Swing Golf Tournament and Auction to benefit the Boy Scouts of America, Cape Fear Council this week and raised more than $85,000 for the cause, adding to the $1 million total over the event’s history.

 

More than 175 participants enjoyed this year’s reception and auction at the Holiday Inn Resort at Wrightsville Beach on June 7 and the golf tournament at Magnolia Greens Golf Plantation in Leland the following morning. 

 

“We look forward to this event each year to show our support for the Boy Scouts. It’s a terrific partnership and we are very proud as a company that we have such a long-standing commitment to our local scouts,” said Jeff Turpin, Chairman and CEO of VPS.  “With the help of our vendor partners, we have raised more than a million dollars and counting.”

 

To date, VPS has contributed over $1 million to the Cape Fear Council Scouting program, which covers an eight-county area of southeastern North Carolina.  All money raised from the annual event goes directly to the Boy Scouts to provide financial assistance for any Scout who needs help to participate in activities or attend summer camp. It also supports the Council’s “Scoutreach” program to inner-city and rural areas of southeastern North Carolina.

 

This annual golf tournament has become the largest fundraising event in the history of the Cape Fear Council Boy Scout program. It has achieved national acclaim by the Boy Scout organization and has become a model for other Boy Scout groups throughout the southern United States.

 

“The VPS Convenience Store Group has a long and rich history of strong leadership and support to our Boy Scout program,” said Doug Clevinger, Scout Executive of the Cape Fear Council. “It is a great example of a corporate commitment to the values of character, integrity, leadership and patriotism that are taught by our Scouting program and we are honored by the VPS partnership.”

 

The Chairman of the golf tournament this year was Rich Mione, Senior Director of Merchandising for VPS.  Jeff Turpin, the company’s Chairman and CEO, serves on the Executive Board of the Cape Fear Council, Boy Scouts of America.

 

The Boy Scouts of America celebrated 101 years of service to young people this year.  The Cape Fear Council Boy Scout program is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina and serves over 14,000 persons through 2,100 volunteer leaders and more than 200 chartered organizations.  The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to foster the character development, citizenship training, and physical fitness of young people and in other ways to prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime by instilling values based on those found in the Scout Oath and Law.

 

 

The VPS Convenience Store Group, headquartered in Wilmington, NC, operates under six brand names including Scotchman, Village Pantry, Lil Cricket, Young’s, Next Door Stores and Everyday Shops.  VPS offers premium fuel brands such as Exxon, Mobil, BP, Shell, Valero, Marathon and its own proprietary brand, Carolina Petro. The VPS group is ranked 27^th on the Convenience Store News Top 100 List and seventh on the Grant Thornton North Carolina 100® list of top private companies. The group has more than 3,200 employees.