The Energy Marketers of America (EMA) is pleased to announce that Mark McBride, President and CEO of Cox Oil Company, Inc., Union City, TN, has been chosen to receive EMA’s prestigious 2022 Distinguished Service Award (DSA). Serving on the DSA Committee included: Chair, Mike Downs, Downs Energy, Corona, CA; Matt Bjornson, Bjornson Oil Company, Cavalier, ND; Jim Lipscomb, Lipscomb Oil Company, Greenville, MS; Frank Marcello, Marcello Distributors Thibaut Oil Co, Donaldsonville, LA; Kris DeLair, Empire State Energy Association, Albany, NY; past EMA Chair Aaron Littlefield, Littlefield Oil Company, Fort Smith, AR and EMA Chair Tommy Thompson, Thompson Energy, Dalton, GA. The award will be presented to Mark at the EMA Fall meeting at the NACS Show on Saturday, October 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mark grew up in rural West Tennessee on a small family farm. At the early age of four, he began to learn the value of hard work and integrity by hand picking corn and tending livestock on the family farm for his dad. His mother and multiple generations of his family were employed with a regional grocery chain for many years to help support the family. Mark recalls at the age of fourteen getting to help his mom do things at the grocer. That’s where his love for the food service business began. He became officially employed by the regional chain at age 16 and continued through his college years at the University of Tennessee at Martin. After college, he entered the grocers’ management program and worked in every facet of the food service business over a span of 18 years.
In 1995, an opportunity arose that allowed Mark to enter the oil and convenience store business as Director of Operations for Cox Oil Companies’ 22 sites. Since that time, McBride has progressed through the company leadership ranks and was promoted to President and CEO in 2009. Cox Oil Company is a family-owned business that was founded by Michael E. Cox in 1970. Today, the company and its’ affiliated companies own 54 locations, of which it operates 52 under the Little General and other trade names, throughout the West Tennessee and Western Kentucky markets, employing 600 associates. In addition to its retail locations, the company operates a Tennessee statewide alcohol online training company. Over the past 27 years, McBride has been afforded the privilege, by founder Mike Cox, of acquiring varying degrees of equity interest in 36 of the company’s retail locations, and online training company. He is also co-owner of KYTN Transport, LLC., a commercial fuel transport company serving West and Middle Tennessee as well as Western Kentucky.
Over the past 26 years, Mark has served the energy marketing industry through the Tennessee Fuel & Convenience Store Association (TFCA) and had the honor of being appointed TFCA President in 2013. He served as the Tennessee State Director for the Energy Marketers of America (EMA), EMA Southeast Region Chair, EMA Convenience Store Chair, EMA Strategic Planning Task Force member and EMA Chair in 2018. He currently serves on Marathon’s Jobber Advisory Council.
Locally, Mark has served as a board member of the Obion County Chamber of Commerce and continues to serve as a Rotarian in the Union City Rotary Club of which he was President in 2019 and is a Paul Harris Fellow through his local Rotary Club. Mark and his wife of 42 years, Donna, live just outside of Union City, Tennessee. They have two children, Brittany Allen, and Dustin McBride, and three grandchildren, Keegan McBride, Madelyn Grace and Sophie Marie Allen. Spending time with family is of the utmost importance to the McBride’s. Other hobbies include golf, gardening, and duck hunting. The family worships at the Bishop Street Church of Christ in Union City and supports various charitable and benevolent organizations both locally and throughout the State.