Hi-Lo staff awarded for hard work in 2010

Laranzo Dacres, Gleaner Writer

THE AIR was filled with laughter, the tables were set and dinner was aptly prepared, as the Hi-Lo Food Stores family gathered at The Knutsford Court hotel in St Andrew to partake in their annual awards dinner.

The joyous occasion took place last Wednesday evening. The store managers of the supermarket's 15 locations were recognised for their hard work and contribution to the food store last year, which Oral Richards, general manager, Hi-Lo Food Stores, said was a challenging one.

"It was because of our hard-working managers why we were able to make it through such a challenging year," Richards declared. The general manager said 2011 is also shaping up to be another challenging year, but expressed confidence in the capabilities of his team.

The Store Manager of the Year award went to Sandra Curtis-Campbell of Hi-Lo Negril. This is her third consecutive year receiving this award. First runner-up was Melissa Lawrence of Hi-Lo Ochi Rios, and second runner-up went to Norvia Chang of Hi-Lo Barbican.

"I think I am only as good as my team," a modest Curtis-Campbell said.

Johann Sang of Hi-Lo, University of the West Indies, copped the Team Member of the Tear award, and the coveted General Manager's Award was given to Sharon Bennett, senior customer service representative of the chain's Negril branch.

Althea Hewitt and company provided entertainment for the evening, wooing members of the GraceKennedy family with renditions of Rod Stewart's Have I told You Lately and Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody Love Me Better.

Douglas Orane, chairman and CEO of GraceKennedy, recollected the early years of his career at Hi-Lo. He described retailing as a "joyous business".

"Once you have a great manager, you have a great store, no matter the calibre of the workers, once they are well led they will do well," Orane said.

Hi-Lo Food Stores have been in Jamaica for 27 years and has hopes of becoming the number-one supermarket chain in Jamaica by the year 2031.