For Manager of the Year Selena Salas, her start in the grocery business was supposed to be temporary. At 17 she started as a cashier at the Lexington, TN Save A Lot. Her plan at the time was to stay through high school. But the longer she stayed, the more she learned.
Her plan changed. She wanted to stay a bit longer at the store. The goal then was to keep working there to help pay for nursing school. While she worked, she quickly added new roles and responsibilities, moving from cashier to stocker to produce clerk and produce manager.
Then nursing school started. Salas continued to work at the store, taking care of customers, while also going to school. It was during that first semester of nursing school, Salas realized her passion for taking care of people was not as a nurse, but at the store. She wanted to help people but preferred doing it by providing fresh, affordable groceries instead of in a clinical setting.
From there, Salas then became an assistant manger and now as a store director. She oversees all operations at the Lexington, TN store. Some of her favorite parts of her role now that was there at the beginning of her career was working with the community in a variety of ways. She regularly partners with the local police and fire department providing donations for anything they need.
The person she credits for her success is her boss, Save A Lot Retail Partner Shannon McPherson. “He has always coached me. He believed in me early on and saw my potential to grow in the grocery business and for that, I’m thankful” Salas said. “He knows how to make people better, if that’s what they want. He’s one of the biggest reasons I found a passion for grocery. I’ve learned from him for eight years and wouldn’t be the store leader I am if it wasn’t for his leadership.”
Salas has been able to turn her positive experience into coaching and mentoring others. “I love seeing potential in others and helping them achieve their dreams,” she said. “When people leave here to go onto other things, they always know they can come back because I love helping others when they need it. College kids, retirees or anyone wanting to make a change can do that and know that for the most part, our door is always open to help them get where they want to go.”