Two New York industry veterans earn their way onto honor roll of successful entrepreneurs.
The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) has announced that c-store veterans Larry Bull and Mike Deuser have been elected to the New York Convenience Store Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame honors individual retailers and suppliers for exceptional achievement in, and service to, the convenience store industry.
Larry Bull is president and CEO of Utica, N.Y.-based Bull Bros. Inc. and a managing director and part owner of Fastrac Markets LLC, an East Syracuse, N.Y.-based convenience store chain operating throughout Upstate New York.
Bull, along with his brothers Bruce and Marty, purchased Bull Bros. Inc. (formerly Herkimer Petroleum) from their parents in 1984 and proceeded to transform the heating oil and motor fuel company into a convenience operator with retail locations throughout central New York.
In 1998, Bull Bros., Clark’s Petroleum, and Glider Oil merged to form Fastrac Markets. Fastrac currently operates 50 stores under the names Fastrac Markets and Fastrac Café.
After serving as a U.S. Army officer, including one year in Vietnam, Bull earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from at Utica College in 1974.
Bull is active in the community, having served on numerous boards, including the Valley United Way, General Herkimer Scout Council, Mohawk Valley EDGE, Herkimer County Community College Foundation Board and Faxton-St. Lukes Hospital Board.
He served on the board of directors of NYACS for 12 years, including three years as legislative committee chairman.
DEUSER MARKS 50-YEAR CAREER
Mike Deuser of West Seneca N.Y. is vice president of food service for Tripifoods Inc., a family-owned wholesale distributor headquartered in Buffalo.
Deuser has spent his entire 50-year career in the food industry, starting as a dishwasher in restaurants and working his way up through the ranks to management while in high school and college.
After graduating from Erie County Technical School with a degree in Food Service Administration, he went to work for an industrial feeding company. and then moved on to Bells Supermarkets, first as a deli specialist and then as director of retail food service. He joined Tripifoods in 1996 as Director of Food Service and was promoted to vice president in 2001.
Deuser is an eight-year member of the NYACS Associate Board and served as its Chairman in 2013-14. He has served on the NYACS Convention Committee since 2001 and holds the Tripifoods-sponsored NYACS Chairman’s Banquet yearly. Deuser co-chaired NYACS’ Chairmen’s Open golf tournament in 2014 in Ellicottville N.Y.
Deuser received the Carl Tripi Award from NYACS in 2015 recognizing his contributions to New York’s convenience store industry.
NYACS will induct both men at its annual Chairman’s Banquet on May 11 in Syracuse. Friends and industry colleagues are invited to attend, and may register by visiting www.nyacs.org, or calling 877-384-8829.