As a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a veteran himself, Darren Rebelez, CEO of Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey's, is an advisory board member for the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, an organization that provides college scholarships and educational counseling to military kids who have lost a parent in the line of duty.
Rebelez is CSP's 2024 Retail Leader of the Year. He was honored in October at the RLOY award dinner in Las Vegas.
Casey's General Stores Inc. is No. 3 on CSP's 2024 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
He started his work with Children of Fallen Patriots more than a decade ago during his time at 7-Eleven and has been part of it ever since.
He’s been responsible for raising more than $2 million in funding, which equals more than 300 years of college for students, said David Kim, co-founder and CEO of Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, Dulles, Virginia.
“Casey's is a Fortune 500 company. It’s enormous and geographically diverse, and so he’s been a tremendous source of wisdom and advice as we’re facing various business issues around growing or developing our team or whatever the case may be,” said Kim. “He’s been multifaceted in that regard.”
West Point teaches military students that serving is not only about service in uniform, but also to render a lifetime of service to the nation, said Kim.
“I think Darren has very much lived that out because it's a very noble thing that he's doing to continue to help the children of our fallen, who have provided our way of life and all the blessings we have would not be possible without them,” said Kim.
A good business is one that has more meaning than transactions with customers, Kim said. Casey’s employees get involved with the organization, too, and stores with fundraising campaigns that perform well receive recognition.
“Community engagement through initiatives like what he's done with fallen patriots adds an extra dimension to every business,” said Kim. “It's more than just dollars and cents. It's about having some heart for the community and for your workers and for the broader society and being a good part of that and being a good citizen.”
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