Education at NATSO Connect

NATSO Connect Retail Tour
Hosts: Chad Stanford, vice president of real estate, QuickTrip; Mohamed Sharaf, vice president, Victron Energy

NATSO retail tours provide NATSO members with an opportunity to tour best-in-class retail locations, gather great ideas from successful truckstop operators and network with other truckstop and travel plaza operators in attendance! Attendees will tour Victron Energy’s Texas Best Smokehouse, QuikTrip and Buc-ee's in the greater Dallas area.

Space on the NATSO Connect Retail Tours are limited to 45. Reseve your spot on the bus when you register for NATSO Connect. Closed to press.

NATSO’s Roadside Repair/Shop Safety Sharegroup Meeting
With support from Love’s Travel Stops, the NATSO Foundation created the NATSO’s Roadside Repair/Shop Safety Sharegroup to address critical issues involving truck repair and roadside assistance. The group’s top priorities are to reduce accidents involving disabled trucks and roadside assistance personnel and to identify the implications of trends driving change in truck repair/roadside assistance.

Attendance at the NATSO’s Roadside Repair/Shop Safety Sharegroup meeting is closed to sharegroup participants. Contact Amy Toner, the NATSO Foundation’s executive director, at (703) 739-8570 or atoner@natso.com to inquire about joining the group. Closed to press.

Great Ideas! Workshop
Faciliator:  Amy Toner, Executive Director, NATSO Foundation
Do you have a great idea that has helped your business? Wouldn’t you like to hear the great ideas your peers have implemented? The Great Ideas! Workshop provides a forum for independent operators to learn what is working for their peers, hear presentations from industry experts and rejuvenate their creative juices!

The Great Ideas! Workshop is open to truckstops, travel centers and sponsors only. Closed to press.

Truckstop and Travel Center Regulatory and Government Affairs Update: Keynote and Breakfast on the Show Floor
Speaker: David Fialkov, NATSO; Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, NATSO, LeeAnn Goheen, NATSO, Jessica Frend, NATSO
David Fialkov, NATSO’s executive vice president of government affairs, offers his take on what the political landscape in 2023 will mean for the business community and travel centers in particular. Having represented fuel retailers and the convenience store industry in Washington, D.C., for more than ten years, Fialkov brings an understanding of not only the business environment and legal issues confronting travel plazas, but also a sharp grasp of federal policymakers’ political and policy agendas.

Fialkov will discuss the national political environment as well as take a “deep dive” on some of the key issues relevant to the travel plaza industry that will be on the table in 2023. Attendees will learn the inside-the-beltway scoop on some of the biggest government affairs issues facing NATSO members. Plan to attend and learn how operators and vendors can work together to advance our shared advocacy goals.

Is Hydrogen the Fuel of the Future?: Emerging Alternative Fuels Keynote and Lunch on the Show Floor

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are advancing zero-emission vehicle technology, including hydrogen fuel cells, as they react to increasing regulatory demands for new technology. On Thursday, March 9, 2023, a panel of alternative leaders will examine the future of hydrogen-fueled vehicles and the infrastructure needed to fuel them. While some industry advocates and researchers are confident that the costs of hydrogen, vehicles and hydrogen production will be reduced through scale and innovation over time, what is the timeline that travel centers can expect for this to become a reality? What are OEMs looking at as they look to scale up production? And, most importantly, what can truckstops do to prepare for their arrival? Panelists will probe the dynamics shaping investments in hydrogen and discuss what the market will need to meet future expectations.

Emerging Alternative Fuels Keynote on the Show Floor

Alternative Fuels Case Studies:

Make the Case for Renewable Fuel 
Speaker: Ginger Laidlaw, NATSO’s Alternative Fuels Council
The Alternative Fuels Council is offering a workshop led by Ginger Laidlaw, vice president, which will include real world renewable fuel use case scenarios. This one hour session will engage attendees to understand the benefits as well as challenges to overcome in the blending/renewable fuel business. From the experienced blender looking for a competitive edge within their current operation to someone just getting started, this workshop will serve all levels.

NATSO Government Affairs Meeting

Don’t Get Left Behind: What Innovative Retail Technology Should Embrace Now: Keynote and Breakfast on the Show Floor
Moderator: Jeremie Meyren, OnRamp
A panel of truckstop and travel center technology leaders will offer an inside look at their companys’ technology road map. 

Retail Technology Hosted Table Boxed Lunch
Future proof your business by grabbing a seat during the Retail Technology Hosted Table Boxed Lunch. These share sessions will provide an opportunity for truckstops and travel centers and innovative retail companies to share their experiences in a small group over lunch on the show floor. Operators will grab a boxed lunch and choose a table to learn and grow with fellow operators.

Table Hosts: Contact Pamela Hayes, NATSO’s vice president business development, at phayes@natso.com to inquire about hosting a table.

Travel Center Technology Forum

New! The Travel Center Technology Forum is designed to facilitate interactive discussion among truckstops and travel centers operators regarding their top technology priorities for improving customer experience and brand loyalty, while driving efficiencies throughout their organizations.

The 2023 forum will focus on:

• Point-of-sale technology 
• Data competency

The Travel Center Technology Forum is open to truckstops, travel centers and sponsors only. Closed to press.