John Mitchell, general manager of Champlain Oil (parent company of Jiffy Mart Stores) was honored at the recent Vermont Food Industry Convention with the National Grocers Association Spirit of America Award the Vermont Grocers Association Person of the Year. His career with Champlain spans 37 years and during that time has helped the company grow into the state’s largest petroleum distributor and one of Vermont’s larger convenience store retailers. He is a past board member of the Vermont Grocers' Association and is currently on VGA’s government affairs committee. He has testified on behalf of his company and the grocery and petroleum industry on a number of occasions.
The NGA Spirit of America Award was initiated in 1982 to honor individuals who have provided leadership and distinction in the areas of community service and government relations on behalf of the independent retail/wholesale system. It is the food industry’s way of saying thanks to those individuals who have worked to maintain a marketplace that is fair and competitive and free from excessive government intervention and regulation.
N.G.A. has given the award to over 400 individuals, including Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush and Gerald Ford, and House Speaker Tip O’Neil, as well as other distinguished individuals serving the public interest.
Mitchell is active in community affairs with board service on the Ronald MacDonald House, past board member of the Northwestern Hospital, former Boy Scout leader, past Little League and Babe Ruth coach, past Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, Church executive board, Select Board in his town of Fairfax, VT and has been a member of the Masons for 40 years. And he finds time to be a sheep farmer as well.
Former NGA board member and current president of the Vermont Grocers’ Association Jim Harrison said, “John Mitchell exemplifies all that is good about our industry. He works hard, supports industry colleagues and finds time to give back to the community. We are very proud to see him honored.”
John attended Franklin College in Indiana and graduated from the Albany School of Business. He is Vietnam veteran, where he served as a platoon leader.
