In recognition of her commitment to her community and the leadership she has shown for her team of associates, Annette Johnson was named Food Lion’s Ralph W. Ketner Store Manager of the Year on Feb. 7 at the company’s headquarters in Salisbury, North Carolina. Johnson is the store manager at the Food Lion located at 5242 Fairfield Shopping Centre in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“I’m here today because of everyone who believed in me, and I can’t thank all of those individuals enough,” Johnson said. “All things are possible when you believe, and this honor is an example of that. I love my job as a Food Lion store manager and wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Johnson was selected from a group of more than 1,000 store managers across the company. She and three other Food Lion store managers from Radford, Virginia, Oak Island, North Carolina, and Harrisburg, North Carolina, were the divisional winners representing their different geographic regions.
“The commitment our store managers show to the towns and cities they serve and to their teams in their stores makes me so proud, and it’s important for us at Food Lion to come together and recognize their leadership,” Food Lion President Meg Ham told the crowd. “In addition to honoring the top four divisional winners and naming our Store Manager of the Year, today is about highlighting all of our more than 1,000 store managers because they are so deeply passionate and committed to serving our customers and communities every day.”
Johnson has been a Food Lion associate for 25 years, the last 14 as a store manager. Johnson began her career with Food Lion as a cashier followed by various customer service positions before being named store manager.
In addition to Johnson being selected as Food Lion’s Store Manager of the Year, three other store managers were recognized for exceptional leadership.
The 2018 Division Store Manager Excellence Award recipients include:
• JD Jones, store manager at 1200 Tyler Avenue, Radford, Virginia;
• Terry McNeill, store manager at 5901 E. Oak Island Drive, Oak Island, North Carolina; and
• Terry Smith, store manager at 4226 NC-49, Harrisburg, North Carolina.
Food Lion’s Ralph W. Ketner Store Manager Excellence Awards recognize and honor “exceptional store managers who enrich the lives of Food Lion’s customers, associates and the communities we serve, successfully lead our business and support and inspire others,” the company says.
Operating since 1957, Food Lion has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to people and families in need by the end of 2020. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group.
