ALTOONA, Pa., April 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheetz, Inc. will formally accept the gold certification (second-highest level attainable) from the USGBC's LEED program for the environmentally responsible design of its Sheetz Center for Shwellness in Claysburg, Pennsylvania, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, kicking off a daylong Earth Day celebration for Sheetz employees.

Joe Sheetz, president/CEO of Sheetz, and Mike Schiller, executive director of the Green Building Alliance, Pittsburgh chapter of USGBC, headline the event. Members of the press are welcome to join Sheetz in the celebration!

"Meeting the gold level of LEED accreditation is an accomplishment we're quite proud of at Sheetz," said Joe Sheetz. "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."

Opened in 2012, the 11,000-square-foot Sheetz Center for Shwellness became 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 Sheetz Center for Shwellness is a complete health, fitness and learning facility that serves as a hub for wellness outreach to the 15,500+ Sheetz employees across the company's six-state operating area.

The Sheetz Annual Earth Day celebration, exclusively for Sheetz employees (and members of the press who wish to attend), continues immediately following the acceptance ceremony, until 4:30 p.m.

"Our annual Earth Day event has grown in size and popularity with our employees," said Sheetz. "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."

Activities for the day include: Chair massages, drinks from the Sheetz Bros. Coffeez® truck, snacks, lunch, Sheetz community garden sign-up, Shwellness fitness challenge, Seven Springs Mountain Resort overnight giveaways, a rock climbing wall, Sheetz Adopt-A-Highway sign-up, home energy audit information, Penn State's Enactus Team and Master Gardeners information and tips, Blair County Conservation tree sapling giveaways and displays about Rain Barrel Gardens, Care 4 Creation Garden Plot information, Inter-municipal Relations Committee Council of Governments Recycling and Composting in Blair County, Eaton Electric Car Charger and Chevy Volt display, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center Birds of Prey Exhibit, Fly Tying Demonstrations, representatives from the Central PA Humane Society, Rails to Trails of Central PA, Pennsylvania DCNR, PA Game Commission, plus other fun and games, drawings and freebies.

Established in 1952 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Sheetz, Inc. is one of America's fastest growing family-owned and operated convenience retailers, with more than $6.6 billion in revenue for 2013 and more than 15,500 employees. The company operates more than 470 locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Sheetz provides an award-winning menu of M•T•O® subs, sandwiches and salads, which are ordered through unique touch-screen orderpoint terminals. Sheetz currently ranks #87 on Fortune® Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list and on the Best Places to Work list in Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia and has been on that list in Pennsylvania for 12 consecutive years. All Sheetz convenience restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information, visit www.sheetz.com.

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SOURCE Sheetz, Inc.