FMI–The Food Industry Association has announced its 2021 Store Manager Award finalists. From a field of 77 nominees, these 10 finalists stand out for their dedication, community commitment and innovation.
The awards are presented to outstanding managers who generate sales growth, effectively communicate company and store goals and objectives, demonstrate 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 FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin. “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.”
2021 FMI Store Manager Award Finalists
Category A (1-49 stores)
John Salcito, store manager, ShopRite Supermarkets Inc., New Rochelle, New York
Keith Buswell, store manager, Skogen’s Festival Foods, Onalaska, Wisconsin
Katie Swenson, Store Manager, Lunds & Byerlys, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Category B (50-199 stores)
Morris Lewis, store director, Super 1 Foods Store, Brookshire Grocery Co., New Iberia, Louisiana
William Randall, store manager, Giant Food, Falls Church, Virginia
Hugh “Rusty” Rollins, store manager, Food City, K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., Athens, Tennessee
Category C (200-plus stores)
Brandon Lampkin, store director, Hy-Vee Inc., Omaha, Nebraska
Donna Maxwell, store manager, Harris Teeter LLC, California, Maryland
John Spaulding, store director, Meijer Co., Marquette, Michigan
Category D (International)
Malene Hansen, store manager, SPAR Haderup, SPAR International, Haderup, Denmark
Celebration plans
FMI includes a profile for each finalist on the awards website, and over the next four weeks, the FMI Voice of Food Industry blog will feature their stories. From June 7-11, FMI will host its People’s Pick category, during which it will ask members of the public to vote for their favorite finalist.
Winners from all four categories and the People’s Pick recipient will be announced during a live, virtual celebration at 1 p.m. ET on June 17 via FMI’s YouTube channel. The awards are sponsored by The Coca-Cola Co.
As the food industry association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers that sell to consumers, to producers that supply food and other products, as well as the wide variety of companies providing critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry.