Honoring Our Heroes: Carmen Potts

LDF Country Market’s Carmen Potts greatest wish for the LDF community? “To get our old lives back,” she says. Until the pandemic passes, however, she is doing all she can to get us there.

“My greatest hope is people realize one life is as important as any other,” Carmen says. “If we all get together on this, we hopefully can beat back the virus. And get back to normal.”

What’s normal for Carmen? She loves to play horseshoes and darts with people. She loves her family. And, she says, the pandemic has brought her family even closer together.

“We help each other out,” Carmen says. “We’ve all had to re-evaluate and adjust how we live.”

For Carmen, she sees an opportunity to help those in the community who may have to go without. Loss of a job. Loss of health. Whatever the loss, Carmen—albeit reluctantly—admits she is on the front lines working to keep people fed and supplied. She doesn’t want to come off as self-important. There’s no doubt, however, she is committed to doing her part for the community.

Many shoppers see the safety measures within the store. But most shoppers likely haven’t thought about how employees work to keep shoppers safe even when employees are not at work. Outside of work, Carmen ensures safety measures are in place at home too.

“I wouldn’t want to bring anything home to my kids or my elderly mother, and I don’t want to bring anything from home to work,” Carmen says.

For me, Carmen says, it’s get the job done. Then go home and take care of my family. It’s a balance between safety and supporting her family. Without working, family suffers. Without health, family suffers.

Most shoppers, she says, are glad we have implemented the health and safety policies at the store. Some give us some grief about it, but we kindly ask them to wear a mask, which, she believes, is helping slow the virus spread.

“I want to do my part to get us back to our old lives,” Carmen says, “where we are not afraid to be near each other. It’s understandable, but, working together, maybe we can get back to more social interactions.”