ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Convenience Distribution Association (CDA) inducted retail industry veteran Paul Auger into its Hall of Fame during the Convenience Distribution Marketplace Awards, held in February in Orlando, Fla. The association’s Hall of Fame recognizes industry leaders for their contributions to the convenience-store distribution industry and their dedication to the CDA.
"Induction into CDA's Hall of Fame represents a lifetime of achievement and excellence in the convenience distribution industry," said Kimberly Bolin, CDA president and CEO. "When peers describe Paul, they say things like 'strategic thinker,' 'tremendous work ethic,' 'lifelong commitment,' 'mentor' and 'icon.’ So, it's safe to say that Paul embodies the characteristics of a Hall of Famer, and we could not be more proud to have him in ours."
Auger began his career with Gardiner, Maine-based Pine State Trading Co.—now Core-Mark International Inc.'s New England division—working for $1.25 an hour. Working his way up, he eventually became president and COO for more than a decade. Auger left the company in 2001, more than 40 years later, to start his own consulting business.
"He has worked for many, many years in this industry, forging relationships with so many people, sharing his knowledge and ideas, being visible, volunteering his time, sacrificing family time when he had to and on and on," said Jode Bunce, executive vice president at Naperville, Ill.-based Eby-Brown Co.
Auger’s son, Mike, current president of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based RAI Trade Marketing Services Co., referred to his father as an industry icon.
"Paul has a lifelong commitment to the wholesale industry," he said. "This is who he is. This is his family outside of his personal family."
Reston, Va.-based CDA is the trade organization working on behalf of convenience-store products distributors in the United States. Its distributor members represent more than $92 billion in U.S. convenience product sales, serving a wide variety of small retail formats.
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