Sheetz has been a longtime supporter of Lynn. His generous gift funded the beautification and upgrade of Lynn’s main entrance on Military Trail—including a traffic light for campus safety and five lanes for better traffic flow.
This significant campus enhancement was in keeping with the university’s strategic plan, Lynn 2020, and also was a strategic lynchpin in Lynn’s ability to host the final presidential debate in October 2012.
Sheetz founded Sheetz Inc. in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when he was 18 years old. He purchased one of his father’s five dairy stores where he had been working after school and on weekends, and named it Sheetz Kwik Shopper.
Over the past 60 years, the company has grown into a fast food and fuel business operating more than 500 stores in six states—Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia—employing more than 15,000 people.
In 2001, the Sheetz Corp. won a Silver Plate Award from the International Food Manufacturers Association; and it has been listed among the best places to work in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina.
Sheetz and his four brothers, who also joined the family business, learned to give back from their parents. Every Sunday after church they would load up a week’s worth of groceries from their store and deliver them to area shut-ins.
Each year, Sheetz Family Charities Inc. raises thousands of dollars for Special Olympics through in-store collections at each location; and raises more than $1.5 million to provide Christmas to underprivileged children throughout the six states in which Sheetz Inc. operates. It also sponsors more than 40 Make-A-Wish Foundation families on a trip to Disney World.
Although he is now retired after serving as the company’s president for 32 years, Sheetz says that he still spends a part of every day thinking about his family business. He serves on the company’s board of directors and is a member of its planning team. He also is retired from the board of directors of First National Bank and Island National Bank.
Sheetz has been a member of the Lynn University Leadership Society since 2011.
