SAVANNAH, Ga. (Aug. 22, 2024) – Parker’s Kitchen – a nationally acclaimed convenience and food service leader – is delighted to announce that the company’s Outreach and Communications Manager Olivia Parker has been named a 2024 Future Leader in Convenience by Convenience Store News for her impressive professional achievements.
The seventh annual Future Leaders in Convenience awards program honors 50 rising stars age 35 and under from a wide range of convenience store industry retailers, distributors and suppliers. The 2024 winners will be recognized and honored at the annual Future Leaders in Convenience Summit, which will be held Nov. 12-13 in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Olivia is a talented young professional who deserves this industry recognition,” said Parker’s Kitchen President Brandon Hofmann. “She is growing our charitable giving initiatives in strategic ways and establishing Parker’s Kitchen as a valued community partner in new and existing markets throughout the Southeast.”
Parker originally joined Parker’s Kitchen as a Store Recruiter in 2020 and was promoted to Outreach and Communications Manager in 2023. She has recruited more than 1,000 Parker’s Kitchen team members and has led a number of the company’s highly successful charitable giving initiatives.
Parker currently oversees community outreach, charitable giving and internal communications at Parker’s Kitchen. She serves as a strong community liaison, coordinating charitable giving and team member engagement with local nonprofit organizations and ensuring that the company’s philanthropic efforts are aligned with the Parker’s Kitchen core values.
In addition, she oversees the company’s round-up campaigns and Fueling the Community charitable giving program, which donates a portion of all gas sold on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools. She also leads charitable giving initiatives through the Parker’s Community Fund, which supports education, expands access to healthcare, celebrates veterans and first responders and decreases hunger throughout the Parker’s Kitchen corporate footprint.
Passionate about giving back to the community, Parker currently serves on the board of directors for the Savannah Music Festival, the Educate Chatham Foundation and the Red Shoe Society, which supports the Ronald McDonald House in Savannah. She is also a member of the Savannah Community Fund’s Emerging Leaders Committee and a Union Mission volunteer.
Parker’s Kitchen employs more than 1,600 professionals throughout Georgia and South Carolina and completes more than a million transactions weekly at stores throughout Georgia and South Carolina. The company was named the Convenience Store Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions, which is the industry’s highest honor, and has been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores and by Convenience Store News as the Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year.
Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s Kitchen has become a nationally acclaimed company that was recently honored as a USA Today Top Workplace for 2024 and was included on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America for the seventh time. The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date.
Known for its commitment to charitable giving, Parker’s Kitchen stands apart as one of the most generous companies in the convenience store industry and in the Southeast. Over the past six years, the company has donated more than $30 million to support education, expand access to healthcare, fight childhood hunger and celebrate local heroes.
ABOUT PARKER’S KITCHEN:
Honored as the Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, Parker’s Kitchen is strategically redefining the nation’s convenience store industry, offering customers high-quality products, freshly prepared food and superior customer service at retail stores throughout Georgia and South Carolina. Proudly headquartered in Savannah, Ga., the company has a commitment to exceeding customer expectations and has repeatedly been recognized as one of the nation’s leading convenience store and foodservice companies. Included on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in America seven times, Parker’s Kitchen serves world-famous hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders as well as made-from-scratch mac ‘n’ cheese, a breakfast bar and daily specials. The popular Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved Parker’s Kitchen customers more than $15 million to date. Learn more: www.parkerskitchen.com.
RECENT AWARDS AND ACCOLADES:
● Inc. 5000 List – Fastest Growing Companies in America – Inc. Magazine (7 times)
● Top Workplaces USA 2024 – USA TODAY
● Best Places to Work in South Carolina – SC Biz
● Hall of Fame Inductee – Convenience Store News
● Best Gas Station Brand and Best Convenience Store Food Top 10 – USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards
● Convenience Store Chain of the Year – Convenience Store Decisions
● Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award
● Legacy Leader – Georgia Trend
● America’s Best Convenience Stores – Food and Wine
● Southeast Retailer of the Year – The Shelby Report
● Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year – Convenience Store News
● Top 10 U.S. Gas Station Brands – Gas Buddy
