Finalists

We celebrate the hardworking store managers who often wear many hats as they jump from project to project to serve their store and customers. The food industry thrives because of the store managers we celebrate today who bring their passion and talents to create unique food experiences for the grocery customer. Click on each profile to learn more. 

Category A: (1-25 Stores)

Kerri Hunsley

PCC Community Markets
Columbia City, Washington
Nothing against desks or offices, but manager Kerri Hunsley doesn’t hang out in those places very much. She spends about two-thirds of her typical day working on the floor at the PCC Community Market in Columbia City, Washington, interacting with ...

Cathy Moloney

Hanover Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont
White River Junction, Vermont
The best locally-sourced offerings at this Hanover store in White River Junction, Vermont include its store manager, Cathy Moloney. She began her grocery career in 1976 as a teenager in town and today, directs a team ranging from teenagers to ...

Rea Noyes

Inserra Supermarkets ShopRite of Ramsey
Ramsey, New Jersey
Rea Noyes knows the importance of taking the right steps to meet shopper needs – sometimes, actual steps. In a crowded grocery landscape in Ramsey, N.J., Rea has differentiated her store and made it a destination in part by launching a “walk to” ...

Category B: (26-199 Stores)

Amanda Gulley

K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc., d/b/a Food City
Morristown, Tennessee
Tokens of appreciation aren’t just a concept for Amanda, who takes time to send handwritten holiday cards to the store’s top 100 customers each year, writes out personal greeting cards to store associates on their birthdays and hosts team cookouts ...

Roman Perez

The Fresh Market, Inc.
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
There are many kinds of statistics that support strong store management, and although Roman Perez has hit important metrics for sales and EBITDA, the fact that his store in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida is under the company turnover goal by double ...

Tammy Sluck

Family Fare
Grayling, Michigan
When a wildfire raced through Grayling, Michigan last year, Family Fare manager Tammy Sluck sprang into action mode. She provided meals and water to responders, later receiving a commendation letter from the local fire marshal and the state’s ...

Category C: (200+ Stores)

Michael Peebles

Brookshire’s Grocery Company
Emory, Texas
His company has seen something remarkable in Michael Peebles, honoring him with Store Director of the Year Award in 2023 and choosing his site as a district training store despite its relatively remote location. He has been asked to assist with ...

Alex Spurlock

QFC - The Kroger Co.
Redmond, Washington
If you watch Alex at work for a few shifts at a Kroger-owned QFC store in Redmond, Washington, you can see how her approach to work and mentorship was influenced by the time she spent as a soccer player. It’s not just the hustle and competitive ...

Adam Thao

King Soopers - The Kroger Co.
Erie, Colorado
One wouldn’t think being popular is a problem, but it does come with its own set of challenges. That’s true in life and in the retail business, as store manager Adam Thao has discovered at the helm of a King Soopers store, owned by the Kroger Family ...

Category D: (International)

Rita Khijakadze

SPAR Georgia
Tbilisi, Georgia
If imitation is the finest form of flattery, Rita Khijakadze has a lot of admirers. A constant innovator, she has launched several “firsts” at her SPAR store that were emulated and implemented by other locations in ...

Chris Lawlor

Eurospar Wallace Village/Henderson Retail
Lisburn, United Kingdom
The fact that he doesn’t seek out credit is exactly why his colleagues nominated Chris Lawlor for a FMI Store Manager Award. His natural humility – evident in one of his favorite phrases about “Our wee team!” – enables him to focus on the business ...

Manfredo Tabor

SPAR Gourmet 'am Fleischmarkt'
Wien, Austria
At age 24, Manfredo Tabor has already marked a decade of service to the grocery industry and become a role model. Students at the SPAR Academy in Vienna – a privately-owned school for SPAR apprentices – follow him as an example of a visionary leader ...

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