Philip R. Tucker has been elected to the board of directors of Associated Grocers of New England, filling an open seat.

“As the owner of Aldrich General Store in North Haverhill, N.H., for over 30 years, Phil’s experience, effective leadership style and in-depth business knowledge have helped him grow his business more than tenfold, from yearly revenues of under $300,000 to over $3 million,” noted board chair Thomas Bradbury.

Tucker, a onetime journeyman plumber, bought Aldrich General Store in 1976, and by 1989 had deployed a computerized bar-code checkout system. Seven years later, higher sales enabled him to construct a new store four times as large, with such features as an expanded product line and a deli. Tucker was the New Hampshire Grocers Association’s Grocer of the Year in 2005. That same year, he joined the AG New England Retail Advisory Board.

Pembroke, N.H.-based AG New England, owned entirely by independent retail grocers as members of a cooperative, is the largest retailer-owned, wholesale grocery distribution center in the region. The company serves independent retail food stores in Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the upstate New York/Albany area.