FMI Unveils 2021 Store Manager Award Finalists
FMI — The Food Industry Association has released its slate of 2021 Store Manager Award finalists. Out of 77 nominees, 10 finalists were chosen, based on their dedication, community commitment and innovation. The Store Manager Awards are given to those who generate sales growth, effectively communicate company and store goals and objectives, model team leadership in their store/company, provide exceptional customer service through in-store programs, and improve community relations.
“Our 2021 class of Store Manager Award finalists were already star performers before the challenges of the pandemic entered the picture,” said Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “The ways they quickly adjusted their businesses, continually rallied their teams and steadfastly served their communities during the extreme circumstances of a national emergency makes them truly exceptional.”
The 2021 FMI Store Manager Award finalists are as follows:
Category A (1-49 Stores)
- John Salcito, ShopRite Supermarkets Inc., New Rochelle, N.Y.
- Keith Buswell, Skogen’s Festival Foods, Onalaska, Wis.
- Katie Swenson, Lunds & Byerlys, Minneapolis
Category B (50-199 Stores)
- Morris Lewis, Super 1 Foods Store/Brookshire Grocery Co., New Iberia, La.
- William Randall, Giant Food, Falls Church, Va.
- Hugh “Rusty” Rollins, Food City/K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., Athens, Tenn.
Category C (200-plus Stores)
- Brandon Lampkin, Hy-Vee Inc., Omaha, Neb.
- Donna Maxwell, Harris Teeter LLC, California, Md.
- John Spaulding, Meijer Co., Marquette, Mich.
Category D (International)
- Malene Hansen, SPAR Haderup, SPAR International, Haderup, Denmark
FMI has a profile for each finalist on its Store Manager Awards website, and will feature their stories on the FMI Voice of Food Industry blog over the next four weeks. From June 7 through June 11, the trade organization will host the People’s Pick category, during which members of the public can vote for their favorite Store Manager Awards finalist. Winners from all four categories and the People’s Pick recipient will be revealed at a live virtual celebration on June 17 at 1:00 p.m. ET on FMI’s YouTube channel. The Store Manager Awards are sponsored by The Coca-Cola Co.
Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter is owned by The Kroger Co., No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States. Ahold Delhaize USA (parent company of Landover, Md.-based Giant Food) is No. 10; Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer is No. 18; Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite) is No. 23; West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee is No. 34; Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery Co. is No. 62; and Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T is No. 79 on PG’s list.
