ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) has announced that Terry Pier, Mike Siwik and the Byrne Family have been elected to the New York Convenience Store Hall of Fame.
NYACS will honor them at its annual Chairman’s Banquet on May 14 in Syracuse, N.Y.
The Hall of Fame honors individual retailers and suppliers for exceptional achievement in the convenience store industry and exemplary service to NYACS.
Terry Pier is zone manager for the northeastern United States for tobacco manufacturer Swisher International Inc. Throughout his 26-year career with Swisher, Pier has been actively involved with NYACS, often offering to spearhead projects, sponsor events and provide other support without being asked.
He joined the NYACS Associate Board in 2009 and served as chairman in 2011-12.
Mike Siwik retired in 2014 from Lorillard Tobacco Co. after 39 years as a sales manager based in Syracuse. He was a fixture at NYACS trade shows, conferences and golf outings.
Regarded by his peers as a true professional, he always supported NYACS and its retail members through his active participation and thoughtful input.
The Byrne Family is both an Associate Member (Byrne Dairy Inc.) and Retail Member (Sonbyrne Sales) of NYACS.
From milk deliveries by horse-drawn wagon in the 1930s to a newly opened state-of-the-art yogurt manufacturing plant in Cortlandville, N.Y., to its 54-unit convenience store chain, the family-run business has had a profound impact on New York’s c-store industry both as a supplier and retailer for decades.
Matthew V. Byrne founded the business in 1933. In 1943, he turned it over to his three sons, John M. (Jack) Byrne, William M. (Bill) Byrne and C. Vincent (Vin) Byrne.
Family members currently leading the business are Carl Byrne, president, Dairy Group; and Mark Byrne, president of the Retail Group.
Last year, NYACS named the Byrnes one of “New York’s Foremost Convenience Store Families.”
Pier, Siwik, and the Byrne Family will be the 40th, 41st, and 42nd inductees in the New York Convenience Store Hall of Fame, which NYACS founded in 1996.
Based in Albany, N.Y., NYACS is a private, not-for-profit member organization that leads, safeguards and forges a favorable environment for New York State's diverse community of neighborhood convenience stores. It provides its members with vital knowledge, a unified voice on legislative and regulatory issues, and ways to share ideas, address common challenges and build relationships.
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