NACS Community Remembers Wawa’s Richard Wood

It is with deep sadness that NACS shares the news of the death of Richard D. (Dick) Wood Jr., former president, CEO and chairman of Wawa Inc. Wood, who served as 1984-85 NACS chairman, died Friday, July 10, at the age of 88.

For more than 55 years, Wood was the visionary and driving force behind Wawa’s business model, and a pillar of servant leadership, values and culture at Wawa. 

“His impact will forever be felt by generations of Wawa associates, family members, customers, business partners and community organizations. He will be eternally recognized as a beloved treasure to the Company,” said Wawa in a statement. “A true servant leader, Dick Wood lived by a people-first philosophy and believed it was his job to ‘create an environment where each of us believes that we can make a difference.’ His passion for the stores ran deep, as evidenced by his tradition of touring stores to remain vigilant to the needs of associates and customers.” 

Wood carried on a legacy of innovation and loyalty that traces back to his great-grandfather, George Wood, who opened the Wawa Dairy in 1902. Wood began his career at Wawa in 1970 as the company’s first general counsel at the encouragement of Grahame Wood, his father’s cousin and the founder of the first Wawa Food Market. 

Wood went on to lead Wawa for more than five decades as president, CEO and chairman. Under Wood’s leadership, Wawa grew to employ over 36,000 associates in 900 stores across six states. He was instrumental in key initiatives that have helped Wawa grow into new markets. Wood was the guiding force behind Wawa becoming a 24/7 operation, entering the fuel business, expanding to new states and sharing ownership with associates. 

During his time as president and CEO, Wood championed Wawa’s private and shared ownership model. He led the creation of the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1992, which has now grown associate ownership to 38% of the company, changing the lives of tens of thousands of associates and their family members. In 2008, he also established Wawa’s Internal Care Team, a group dedicated to helping the company’s associates celebrate and address life events or issues with empathy and expertise. 

Wood became president in 1977, CEO in 1980 and in 1982 he became chairman and CEO. He remained chairman and CEO until his retirement in 2004, after which he remained chairman of the Board of Directors. In 2020, upon reaching his 50th anniversary at Wawa, Wood was appointed chairman emeritus. 

“Dick Wood was our true Lead Goose who was the guiding heart and soul of the company,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s chairman and CEO. “He is the reason why Wawa is the company we are today and why we enjoy so much share of heart from our customers and dedication from our associates. Dick had a profound approach to innovation and business that was truly centered on people, and it’s a philosophy we will all work to carry forward. I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside and learn lessons from Dick. He will forever live on at Wawa in all our hearts.” 

Shaping NACS and the Industry

Wood was equally important within the industry. As NACS 1984-85 chairman, he oversaw the expansion of the association’s global reach, which included its first European study tour, which included store tours in London and Amsterdam. 

As NACS chairman, he also oversaw its leadership in promoting the responsible sale of alcohol and the kick-off of NACS’ “Don’t Drive Drunk” campaign. In January 1985, the White House issued a Presidential Private Sector Initiative Commendation signed by Ronald Reagan that noted, in part, “The President hopes NACS will continue to stay involved in this issue and seek to address others as well.” 

Later that year, Wood led NACS’ first national press conference to announce a new campaign to prevent the illegal sale of alcohol to minors. He was joined by other NACS leaders and Rep. James Howard (D-NJ) to announce the “It’s the Law” program that focused on ensuring proper identification for age-related products.

A Legacy in the Community

Wood expanded and grew his family tradition of philanthropy. Among those causes was a deep commitment to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which through his leadership, now includes The Richard D. Wood Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, the Richard D. Wood Jr. and Jeanette A. Wood Endowed Chair in Pediatric Diagnostic Medicine.

The legacy at CHOP includes Wawa Volunteer Services, including the Wawa Coffee & Care Cart, which provides patients and families with a cold beverage or hot cup of coffee and comfort while getting care at the hospital.

Wood was often seen pushing the Coffee Cart through the halls of CHOP to serve patients and families at their bedside. In 2019, Wood was honored at the CHOP Carousel Ball for maintaining an unwavering commitment to CHOP and for demonstrating tremendous generosity, humility and grace. 

In addition to CHOP, Wood was also a strong supporter of Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, where he championed ways to allow everyone to experience the beauty of the gardens. Throughout his career, Wood inspired everyone at Wawa to serve and support thousands of non-profit organizations that worked to improve millions of lives and make the world a better place. Today, this can be seen through the impact of Wawa and The Wawa Foundation, which have contributed more than $200 million to community non-profit organizations since inception. 

“Dick Wood was unlike any other CEO I’ve ever encountered. He had a special mix of heart, compassion, empathy and humility that made him a true believer and practitioner of servant leadership. With Dick, people always came first, never him,” said Howard Stoeckel, former vice chairperson and former president & CEO of Wawa. “At Wawa, we have a set of core values that we live by, and Dick is the one who brought them to life and instilled them into our culture. The lessons he taught all of us at Wawa to fly together to reach new heights are alive and well and will be for many years to come.” 

The Dick Wood College Scholarship was launched in 2021 in honor of Wood’s 50th anniversary of service to Wawa associates and his commitment to ensuring everyone at Wawa had the opportunity to grow through education. Throughout his career, Wood championed college degree programs and tuition reimbursement, which remain part of Wawa’s benefit offer today. To celebrate this commitment and his life, Wawa will expand the scholarship fund to continue to offer opportunities for associates to expand their education. In addition, Wawa will provide support to fund free community days annually to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, FL, making the gardens open to all who want to experience them. 

Visit https://www.wawa.com/tribute to learn more about Dick Wood’s legacy.

On Monday July 20, coffee will be free in all Wawa stores as a way to honor Dick Wood and toast his legacy including customers, associates and communities across our chain.