ARA

Foley Volunteer Wins Silver “Retailer of the Year” Award

Thursday, September 27, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Alabama Retail Association (ARA) in cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham today recognized nine outstanding Alabama retailers as “Retailers of the Year." The association and UAB also recognized the Belk and Hess families as “Retail Giants.” The presentations were made at The Sheraton Birmingham Hotel during UAB’s 2007 Retail Day Luncheon. This marked the eighth presentation of the Retailer of the Year Awards since 1999. The awards returned this year after taking a hiatus in 2006.

07ApplebySilverLT$1MAnne A. Appleby , manager and buyer for the South Baldwin Regional Medical Auxiliary Gift Shop in Foley, received the Silver Award in the “Annual Sales Less Than $1 Million” category. Fran Barr, presidium chair of the South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Inc., nominated Appleby for this prestigious award.

The independent panel of judges who chose the Retailer of the Year finalists cited the volunteer manager of this gift shop for almost doubling sales since she took over in 2004, with sales increasing 30 percent in the past year alone. And she did this all as a volunteer, logging more than 4,000 volunteer hours in the past four years.

All of the gift shop profits go to medical scholarships. “The wonderful increase (in the amount available for these scholarships) is due to Anne’s expertise, utilizing every space in our small shop, even hanging items from the ceiling, all with unique but usable gifts,” Barr said in her nomination for Appleby.

Appleby introduced a new, featured item each month and increased sales per square foot. She’s attended gift markets to learn about new retail products and trends. She increased purchases of gift shop gift certificates by distributing fliers to doctor’s offices and hospital employees as well as posting them on community bulletin boards.

South Baldwin Regional Medical Center already has recognized Appleby for her efforts by naming her Volunteer of the Year for 2007. Appleby also volunteers with the Foley Convention and Visitors Bureau, traveling outside the state to promote the heritage of Foley, Baldwin County and the state of Alabama. She’s also worked with first-time offenders, between the ages of 10 and 16, through the Baldwin County Juvenile Court system.

“Anne Appleby is a retailer of the year EVERY year to the others who work with her in the gift shop and the Foley community,” said Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association.

The other winners in the “Annual Sales Less Than $1 Million” category were:

• Gold Award: Shawn Beitelspacher , Southern Sole, Tuscaloosa; nominated by Lauren Skinner, Ph.D., assistant professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

• Bronze Award: Montez Oudenaarden , My Favorite Things, Monroeville; nominated by Sandy Smith, executive director, Monroe County Chamber of Commerce.

John R. Belk, president and chief operating officer of Belk Inc. and the keynote speaker for the Retail Day luncheon, accepted Belk Inc.’s “Retail Giant” award on behalf of himself, his brothers and the company. Donald Hess, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Parisians, accepted the Hess family’s “Retail Giant” award. The Retailer of the Year judges voted to present these special one-time awards to recognize the significant contributions to retailing made by Parisian and the Hess family as well as Belk Inc. and the Belk family.

Bronze, silver and gold awards were presented in two other categories by Alabama annual sales volume:

Annual Sales More Than $5 Million 
• Gold Award: Steven M. Sandlin , Pay-Less Pharmacy Group, Decatur; nominated by John Seymour, president and chief executive officer, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
• Silver Award: Jerry G. Beasley , Beasley Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ozark; nominated by Jeanette Reeves, executive director, Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce.
• Bronze Award: Bryan K. Owens and John B. Marshall , Unclaimed Baggage Center, Scottsboro; nominated by Rick Roden, president and chief executive officer, Greater Jackson County Chamber
of Commerce.

Annual Sales $1 Million To $5 Million 
• Gold Award: Jo Ellen Jordan , Cook & Sons Ace Hardware Inc., Albertville; nominated by Jennifer Palmer, president, Albertville Chamber of Commerce.
• Silver Award: Mickey, Michael and John Gee , Pants Store Inc./Taylor Company Inc., Leeds; nominated by Tricia Ford, executive director, Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Gee, vice president, Taylor Co. Inc.
• Bronze Award: Michael Ray Jones , Mike’s Merchandise, Guntersville; nominated by Virginia Bagwell, Guntersville.

“This was an exciting day for us,” ARA President Brown said.  “It is an honor to be able to recognize such an outstanding group of retailers. Each retailer honored is a credit to the profession and a community asset.”

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Media Contact: Nancy King Dennis | 334.263.5757 Ext. 101 | 800.239.5423