CHICAGO -- Dave Henninger, vice president of marketing services for The Pantry Inc., the 1,600-plus store operator whose main c-store banner is Kangaroo Express, accepted a 2011 Spirit Award for Community Outreach here during a special breakfast honoring the company.

The Convenience Store News Spirit Awards for Community Outreach program was launched in 2009 to celebrate convenience retailers that are involved in community service programs aimed at bettering the lives of the people in the markets they serve. Kangaroo Express is this year's winner in the big chain (500 or more stores) category.

The Cary, N.C.-based chain enjoys philanthropic partnerships with many worthy causes, but Kangaroo Express' commit to military personal and their families is unrivaled in retailing, Don Longo, CSNews' Editor-in-Chief, said as he presented the award.

"Kangaroo Express launched its Salute Our Troops campaign on Memorial Day with a fundraising goal of $1 million by Labor Day -- which it surpassed by the Fourth of July holiday to finish the summer with a total of $2.5 million in donations for military families," noted Longo.

In accepting the award, Henninger said the program resonated with both consumers and store-level personnel. More than half of the retailer's stores are located within 25 miles of a military installation and one-third of its employees have either served in or have family members serving in the military. Henninger also thanked industry supplier partners for their support of the retailer's many charitable efforts.

The breakfast involved about a dozen members of The Pantry team, as well as sponsors participating in a special "Inside the Pantry" special edition of CSNews, due to be published in November. Breakfast sponsors included Tyson, Cardtronics, National Tobacco, Logic, Kretek, Insight Beverages, General Mills, Standex and Swisher.