SAVANNAH, Ga. (Sept. 1, 2020) – Georgia Trend magazine honored Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker as a “Legacy Leader” in the September 2020 issue, published earlier today. To celebrate the magazine’s landmark 35th anniversary, Georgia Trend spotlighted 15 business leaders across the state who have made a long-term impact on their communities and on the state as a whole.
“The [Parker’s] brand is synonymous with clean, friendly, profitable and philanthropic,” the article raves, citing Greg Parker’s $5 million gift to Georgia Southern University as well as the company’s $1 million endowment to the emergency and trauma center at Memorial University Hospital in Savannah, Ga. and ongoing Fueling the Community donations to support schools in Georgia and South Carolina. “Parker credits his ‘remarkable team’ for his success.”
One of Georgia’s leading business innovators, Parker has earned acclaim for his commitment to high-quality foodservice, technology, consumer rights and charitable giving. Parker’s was recently named the 2020 CSDecisions Chain of the Year, which is the convenience store industry’s highest honor.
Over the years, Parker has been recognized as the Convenience Store News Foodservice Leader of the Year, Frank Callen Boys and Girls Club Citizen of the Year, Convenience Store News Tech Executive of the Year, Savannah Morning News Entrepreneur of the Year and Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year.
Under his leadership, Parker’s has grown from a one-store operation in Midway, Georgia to an award-winning, 66-store company with state-of-the-art convenience stores located throughout Georgia and South Carolina, serving delicious, award-winning Southern-inspired Parker’s Kitchen food that’s made from scratch on-site.
Parker’s has been included on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies for five years and has been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores, by The Shelby Report as the Southeast Retailer of the Year and by Convenience Store News as the Foodservice Leader of the Year. Parker is currently leading the company through an ambitious growth plan, which includes a strategic expansion into the Charleston, S.C. market.
A steadfast advocate for consumer rights, Parker launched the Parker’s PumpPal loyalty program, which includes more than 150,000 members and has saved customers more than $10 million to date. He also founded the company’s acclaimed Fueling the Community charitable giving initiative, which gives back to every community where Parker’s does business, and endowed the Parker’s Emergency and Trauma Center at Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Ga.
In the Fall of 2018, Parker made a record $5 million donation to name the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University, supporting the next generation of business leaders in Georgia.
A national industry leader who is originally from Collins, Ga., Parker is active in the Petroleum Marketers Study Group and previously served as the vice chairman of research for the National Association of Convenience Stores and as chairman of the BPAmoco Marketers Association, a member of the Pepsi Retail Advisory Council and a member of the Coca-Cola Retail Advisory Committee.
Parker donates his time and resources to a number of nonprofit organizations in Savannah, Ga. and currently leads a city-wide anti-litter initiative. He previously served as chairman of the Mayor’s Business Roundtable and contributed to the Mayor’s Crime Task Force. Over the years, he also served as the chairman of the Savannah Master Plan Task Force and on the board of directors for the Savannah Economic Development Authority, the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and Memorial Health Foundation.
Parker’s is one of America’s most respected convenience store brands and is known for having the cleanest stores in the industry and for serving award-winning Southern-inspired food. The company operates stores across coastal Georgia and South Carolina, employs 1,200 individuals throughout the region and completes more than 125,000 transactions daily.