Sheetz Center for Shwellness Attains Gold LEED Certification

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Earth Day will be a cause for double celebration for Sheetz Inc.

On Tuesday, April 22, the Altoona-based convenience retailer will accept gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Global LEED Program for the environmentally responsible design of its Sheetz Center for Shwellness in Claysburg, Pa. A 9 a.m. ceremony will kick off the company's Earth Day festivities.

Joe Sheetz, president and CEO of Sheetz, and Mike Schiller, executive director of the Green Building Alliance, Pittsburgh chapter of USGBC, will headline the event. The annual Sheetz  Earth Day celebration will continue immediately following the acceptance ceremony and go until 4:30 p.m.

"Meeting the gold level of LEED accreditation is an accomplishment we're quite proud of at Sheetz," Joe Sheetz said. "Our in-house architects, designers and builders worked with talented partners to develop the plans and construct the facility to satisfy the guidelines of this program. Recognition from the USBGC with their gold certification is further evidence of our commitment to be environmentally responsible."

The 11,000-square-foot Sheetz Center for Shwellness opened in 2012. It is Blair County's first LEED-certified building, meaning it meets strict environmentally friendly criteria in its design, construction and operation as a truly "green" facility.

The center is a health, fitness and learning facility that serves as a hub for wellness outreach to the 15,500-plus Sheetz employees across the company's six-state operating area. Sheetz operates more than 470 locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

Earth Day activities will include massages, a Sheetz community garden sign-up, Shwellness fitness challenge, a rock climbing wall, Sheetz Adopt-A-Highway sign-up, and home energy audit information.

"Our annual Earth Day event has grown in size and popularity with our employees," Joe Sheetz said. "We look forward to this day and encourage the Sheetz workforce from our distribution center, warehouse and Sheetz Bros. Kitchen in Claysburg, as well as our corporate office staff and CLI Transport team in Altoona to get out, get some fresh air, enjoy themselves and learn about ways they can make a difference with the footprint they leave in their community."