The NACS Foundation’s annual 24/7 Day (which takes place July 24) is a way for c-stores to thank first responders and anyone else who is on the clock around the clock, but it’s also more than that. More than two and half million people work in the U.S. c-store industry, and a bunch of those people are working right now—even if you’re reading this in the middle of the night.

By staying open overnight, our stores are beacons of safety and hospitality to whoever needs it, whenever they need it, including first responders and other essential workers.

We don’t necessarily celebrate the frontline workers who take overnight shifts—not to mention the owners or managers who sleep with a phone by their bed, ready to be called into action if they’re needed. But they are essential, too, and need to know that they’re essential. By participating in 24/7 Day, retailers put a mirror in front of their own workers, letting them see the role they play.

It’s not too late to participate in this year’s 24/7 Day event. Read our The Big Question interview with Stephanie Sikorski for more information.

Elsewhere in this issue, we focus on fueling, with a look at the possible low-carbon liquid fuels of the future and overviews of two NACS State of the Industry Summit presentations: One on EVs and one on the current state of fuel retailing. Keith Reid, editor in chief of Fuels Market News Magazine, did the heavy lifting for these articles.

Also be sure to check out our report from the annual Conexxus conference. It’s a safe bet that the c-store experience will be very different in a decade, not just for customers but also for everyone involved in the industry. Conexxus gathers some of the best minds in the industry to lay out potential futures and when and how different technologies will come online.

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