SANFORD, N.C. -- Terry L. McElroy, president of McLane Grocery Distribution, a unit of McLane Co. Inc., has been appointed as a director of The Pantry Inc. The appointment is effective March 1, 2006.
McLane is a major national provider of wholesale distribution and logistics services to convenience stores (including The Pantry), drug stores, mass merchandisers, quick-service restaurants, movie theaters and other specialty retailers.
McElroy, 57, joined McLane in 1981 as vice president of distribution and was named a regional [image-nocss] vice president in 1984. He was promoted to senior vice president of grocery operations in 1990, and named president of McLane Grocery Distribution in 2001. He recently announced his retirement from McLane, effective in February 2006.
Pantry President and CEO Peter J. Sodini said, We are very pleased to welcome Terry to The Pantry's board of directors. He is considered one of the most knowledgeable executives in the industry, and has been a primary architect of McLane Co.'s growth from a small Texas wholesaler to the $24 billion business it is today. With his wealth of experience in the convenience retailing arena, I am certain Terry will provide valuable perspective in the years ahead.
The Pantry's board also has appointed Mark D. Miles to serve as a director of the company. Miles, 52, was CEO of ATP, the men's professional tennis organization, from 1990 to 2005. Before joining ATP, he was executive director of corporate relations for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co. Previously, he was president of the Organizing Committee of the 1987 Pan American Games, established a direct marketing enterprise and worked in politics, managing successful mayoral and U.S. Senate campaigns.
Headquartered in Sanford, N.C., The Pantry is the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country, with net sales for fiscal 2005 of about $4.4 billion. As of Dec. 29, 2005, the company operated 1,401 stores in 11 states under banners including Kangaroo Express, Golden Gallon and Cowboys.
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