HONORING OUR HEROES: JOHN EDWARDS
When in crisis, we see heroes walk among us. Our very own John Edwards is one of those heroes. As an operations supervisor, John continues to work through the pandemic to ensure our community has access to supplies.
“Living nearby the store, there’s no excuse for me to miss work,” John says. “You gotta pay the bills. You gotta adjust to the new normal. It’s been a challenge, but our team has adapted and we’re up to the challenge.”
Admittedly, the pandemic creates challenges for all businesses. LDF Country Market has adapted to an ever-changing situation to deal with an unknown virus. John has been a key factor in overcoming these challenges.
“Many customers appreciate that we work to stay open during the pandemic, while doing what we can to protect them,” John says. “Sometimes we must explain some of our policies to customers, but generally people understand and appreciate it.”
John starts his day at 6:30 a.m, making sure cashiers are ready for the day. He goes through his checklist of items to ensure cleaning procedures are followed. But his commitment to keeping his team and shoppers safe extends beyond the workplace.
John and his wife both work at the store. During the pandemic, they make sacrifices outside of work to protect themselves and their teammates and shoppers. They limit their travel when not working as a key part of keeping people safe, he says.
“Many shoppers show their appreciation,” John says. “Even though they are wearing a mask, you can see the twinkle in their eyes and a head nod. Some say thank you, but however they choose to show their appreciation is really nice and feels good.”
One particular point of pride is how the community holds elders in high regard.
“We ask them if they want assistance and try to make the elders feel as comfortable as possible,” John says. “It’s important to always be respectful to those who came before us.”
When he looks to the future, John says we still have a ways to go before getting past the pandemic and he offers some insight too.
“Keep wearing the masks and wash hands and keep your distance,” he says. “We are doing a good job as far as I see with our shoppers, and we can keep working on it together. We’ll get beyond this eventually.”