As a youngster, Reggie Beamon would go to his uncle’s small grocery store in Tarboro to help out. Now Beamon, who manages the Food Lion Store on John Small Avenue in Washington, won the company’s Manager Excellence Award in March.

He began working at Food Lion as a 17-year old high school student in his hometown of Farmville. Beamon started his career as a grocery bagger, and fell in love with it.

To be considered for the Food Lion Store Manager Excellence Award, Beamon had to go through a rigorous voting process by his fellow store managers of the area, directors, EIS (Executional Implementation Specialists) and the vice presidents of the company.

He went through a week-long interview with his fellow store managers and directors to earn the votes for the award.

“Over the course of 20 years, I got to know a lot of the store managers in this area on a personal level,” Beamon said. “A lot of us started out at the same time, and I started out as a bagger and worked my way up through the ranks of the company.”

In 1994, Beamon got a fresh haircut and was looking for a job. He stopped down the street at the Food Lion because he knew some of his friends were working there and got the job as a bagger.

“I started and did my very best,” Beamon said. “I wanted to go to work and prove I could do the job, and over the course of the years I got moved up to frozen foods, dairy, grocery stocker and grocery manager. Then I moved to assistant store manager to store manager.”

When he started his first words to customers were “paper of plastic?” or asking if the customers needed help putting groceries in the car.

“Even as a bagger, I loved that job,” Beamon said.

One of the first things he learned when he first became manager from his former store manager was how to get more out of his employees. He learned to talk to them on a personal level and show them respect. He also likes to use humor with his employees.

 

“Nobody wants to go to a job and feel like ‘good lord I gotta walk on egg shells today’ or ‘he is going to be really, really angry today,’” Beamon said. “That’s not the way I do it and honestly these folks want to have fun when they come to work and I try to make it fun as they work.”

Beamon is also thrilled with his job as a store manger in Washington and has no plans of moving up or taking a job in the corporate office.

“I am actually tickled to death with the position I have, and had my opportunities over the course of my years with Food Lion to take different jobs,” Beamon said. “I really enjoy working here and molding the next generation for Food Lion.”

When he was 17, Beamon had a mentor at Food Lion and now he is the mentor to 17-year olds and it reminds him to pay it forward.

“Somebody took the time with me and I am definitely going to take the time with them,” Beamon said.