The Carmi Rotary club had two Carmi natives on hand Thursday, to discuss some exciting changes with Martin and Bayley. Brittany Bayley-Murray and Landon Bayley were the day’s speakers, as they filled the Rotarians in on what is new with Huck’s.
Brittany Bayley-Murray, Vice-president of marketing started the presentation with a short video about 1974, the year Huck’s came in to being. The slide show that followed the video showed shots of the very first Huck’s, in Grayville. There were plenty of pictures showing the progression of Huck’s through the years, with a big finish, showing the newest location in Seymour, Indiana. The new store has a completely different décor inside-out, and Brittany told the club that the Carmi store is on the schedule to be remodeled with the new look sometime in the near future.
Brittany also showed artist’s drawings of one of the next stores, this one in Newburg, Indiana. This will be the first 6000 square foot store (almost double the size of current units), with the bulk of the increased space going to the food service side of the business, with sandwiches, chicken, pizza, etc.
It was pointed out that today Huck’s is a gas station that sells food, in five years it will be a restaurant that sells gas!
Landon Bayley was up next, and as Vice-president of fuel operations for the company, he focused on the rapidly changing landscape of auto fuels. Landon explained the E85 fuels that can be found at some c-stores in our area. This fuel is at least 85% ethanol, which is a fuel source made primarily from corn. The current issue with E85 is that cars that are not built to use this fuel can have serious problems. Landon explained that at this time Huck’s is not willing to sell a product that could potentially harm the customer’s car. He also explained, that while E85 is usually cheaper than gas, it produces gas mileage much lower than gas, so the lower cost doesn’t always translate to overall cheaper prices.
Landon then showed a drawing of the Huck’s in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. This will be the first Huck’s location with electric charging stations. As Landon pointed out, this is a growing trend with cars, and Huck’s has to be ready. He explained that the Tesla company will actually put the charging stations in at no cost to Huck’s. However, there will be no profit to Huck’s when customers use the stations. As to why the company would want to do something with zero profit? Landon explained that it takes around an hour to charge an electric vehicle at these “pumps” and the company is counting on those customers spending that hour in our store making purchases inside.
Last but not least, Landon talked about the new “Dawg Pump” at the Carmi Huck’s store. This pump is clearly marked, and is being used as a fundraiser for the Carmi schools. He told the Rotarians that three cents of every gallon of gas pumped at that specific pump will be donated to the Carmi school system. He also told the Rotarians that the pump being used was one of the least used units at the Carmi store, and in the short time the program has been running it has already moved up to the second highest volume pump on the lot.
In club business, the first mention of the spring trivia contest came up, this year’s event will be held on Saturday, March 7th at the American Legion. Much, much more info to come on this big night.
Tom Logan won the 50/50 drawing but did not claim the day’s cash prize. Janice Parks was named as the day’s phantom.
The Carmi Rotary club meets every Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Carmi. Anyone wishing to learn more about this civic organization is welcome to attend a meeting or speak with any Carmi Rotarian
Story courtesy of Randy Adams
