I grew up in Carrollton and Farmers Branch, Texas, with my grandmother. She always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be and that the only person who could hold me back was me. You never fully understand the role your family plays in shaping you until you look back and see it. At that time, I never imagined another woman could be as special to me and play such a significant role in my life, my kids' lives, and my grandbabies' lives until I met and married my wife and best friend, Jodi Knight. I never had much of a relationship with my parents, aside from a brief one with my dad when I was younger. My grandmother was my primary caregiver from when I was three months old. As soon as I could earn money, I took on odd jobs—delivering newspapers, working at a donut shop, cleaning Taco Bell parking lots for cash, doing construction and landscaping in the summers with my uncle, and working for the city water department. Eventually, I secured a job on a route truck for Pepsi Cola in Carrollton, TX, in 1985. This is where my 40+ year career in this business began. After about a year, I moved to Dr. Pepper as a route salesman working out of the distribution center off Mockingbird Lane and Central Expressway in Dallas. There is now a Kroger filled with Dr Pepper memorabilia at that location because it was considered a historical landmark. I spent the next 20 years in various roles, including Cold Drink Manager and Key Accounts, calling on small convenience store chains. I then became a Regional Sales Director, covering Texas and California chain convenience and drug stores. In the last six years of my career at Dr. Pepper, I served as Vice President of National Accounts Small Format. I was responsible for all convenience store chains, drug store chains, and dollar store chains across 23 states. After that, I was recruited by the owner of Rockstar Energy Drink to manage his business with distributors and key accounts such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, HEB, Valero, and 7-Eleven in the US central region. This role was a good fit for me because, at Dr Pepper, I had played a leading role in rolling out Monster Energy Original Black 16oz cans. After my contract with Rockstar expired, I took a job at Coca Cola USA as Vice President and Brand Manager for NOS and Fuse. My time at Coca Cola was short due to restructuring and eliminating brand teams. I kept in touch with a friend and customer for many years, Lee Highsmith, who was a part-owner of the business I now own. I remember when he first started I.B.C., which aimed to unite independent convenience store owners to leverage collective buying power and compete against corporate chains like QuikTrip, 7-Eleven, and RaceTrac. Lee and I stayed connected over the years, as some of my former Dr. Pepper employees managed his account. In 2010, Lee and I had lunch to catch up. He mentioned that his manager had cancer and was expected to pass soon and asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in the job. At the same time, his partner was retiring, and Lee was buying him out. I suggested that, with my experience, I could fill both the managerial void and the role of his retiring partner. We worked out a deal that offered me a fair salary but a share of the business’s incremental profits, which was motivating because there was no cap on my potential. I started at I.B.C. in August 2010. At that time, I.B.C. had about 800 store members in Texas and a small amount in Louisiana. We developed a business plan to take I.B.C. to the next level, as this service was needed by many stores. Today, in August 2024, we have over 9,900 stores in 36 states and are on track to grow to 18,000 stores in the coming years. We are now the second-largest chain, behind 7-Eleven.