TEXARKANA, Texas -- From the uphill struggle against a sagging economy to the massive effort made to drive change to credit-card interchange fees to government regulations, 2009 was a tricky year for the convenience store industry. As Sonja Hubbard, CEO of E-Z Mart, a Texarkana, Texas, prepares to wrap up her term as NACS chairwoman, she reflects on the highs and the lows and sets the stage for 2010 in this exclusive CSP Daily News interview.

NEW YORK -- Shannon Burdette tried to pay with her Shell MasterCard after filling up her fuel tank, but found the card rejected. Confused, she called the customer service line on the back of the card, issued by Citibank, and was told the account was closed because of something that appeared on her credit report. But when the Sykesville, Md., resident got a copy of her credit report online, the only negative thing she saw was "closed at credit grantor's request" on the Shell MasterCard account.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Former Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) executive vice president Phil Chisholm passed away on Friday, October 16, following a stoke he experienced a few days before, the group announced yesterday.