Red Wing Shoes Benefits from Chamber Programs

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BUSINESS PROFILE

1975 Jonesboro Rd., McDonough, GA (678) 782-3588 | www.stores.redwing.com/mcdonough-ga

As a hard-driving General Contractor superintendent, David White built 28 CVS Pharmacies in as many different towns and cities over a stretch of ten years. Each CVS store took 6 – 8 months to build. When it was time to build another one, David and his wife Johnette would move with the job. David was committed to his work. Life was good and he enjoyed the steady employment. The only drawback was having to move so often. “It was especially hard on my wife, David admits. “We had sold our home in Grayson (GA) and always lived in rental properties so we could be near the job sites. We moved too often to put down any roots.”

David White, Owner/Operator Red Wing Shoes

Then life on the road took a turn. In Tupelo, MS, there for another CVS contract, David suffered a heart attack. Through the recuperation, with Johnette by his side, David got well and finished the job in Tupelo. But a new mindset had formed, and David began looking at ways that would get himself and Johnette off the road and back home. Having been raised in the Fairview area of Henry County, where he attended Stockbridge High School, at this point in his life, David would settle for home to be “anywhere in Georgia.”

David joined the Henry County Chamber when he opened his first Red Wing in McDonough in 2013. Initially, he took advantage of the new business mentoring program that the Chamber offered and attended networking meetings. “Every time I’ve gone to a Chamber event, I made a contact that turned into business for me,” David stated. “I read the Chamber’s monthly newsletter and the weekly email to keep up with what’s going on in the business community.”

He continuously reminded his boss that he wanted to go home. But the next job sent him to Florida, and next to Maryland. By then, David was looking at starting his own business, maybe buying a franchise somewhere in Georgia. One day, while he and Johnette were out scouting for a place to live for the new build in Maryland, he spotted a line of people outside of a Red Wing shoe store waiting for it to open. Intrigued, he decided to go in and buy a new pair of work boots and struck up a conversation with the guy who owned the place. Then life took another turn.

The store owner, a former CVS pharmacist by coincidence, told David that buying a Red Wing store was the best decision he’d ever made. He informed David that Red Wing was expanding and encouraged him to investigate it. Which he did. Red Wing gave David options for several locations in their expansion plans, but he insisted on stores in Georgia only. To his surprise, the next store opening in Georgia was in McDonough and the rest is history.

Red Wing employees are Red Wing® Certified Fit and Product Specialists. Don Miller (seated), a retired Red Wing corporate store manager now working part-time for David in McDonough, helps a customer while David assists and Ron Fields, another retiree working part-time looks on.

David opened the McDonough location in May of 2013 and now has a second store in Conyers. His new passion, selling top of the line premium boots and soft toe quality made footwear, has been rewarding. Red Wing specializes in providing the proper fit for the customer’s feet and work environment and has more than 600 retail stores in the US and 110 in other countries. McDonough is a high performing store by Red Wing standards. Its "Red Wing for Business" service has a robust customer base offering safety shoe discounts to employees through many of the commercial and industrial businesses in the surrounding areas.

David demonstrates how the computerized Red Wing “Ultimate Fit Experience” identifies arch type, foot size and underfoot pressure points and indicates an optional solution that can optimize all-day comfort.

Community Involvement

“The heart attack set me on a mission to find a way to make a difference. Red Wing has given us the means to give back in our own modest way.” David contributes boots to a couple of nonprofit organizations to help people in need and supports Damascus Road Recovery and recently helped fund a missionary trip to Panama. David also likes devoting time to mentoring young people.

Chamber Involvement

David joined the Henry County Chamber when he opened his first Red Wing in McDonough in 2013. Initially, he took advantage of the new business mentoring program that the Chamber offered and attended networking meetings. “Every time I’ve gone to a Chamber event, I made a contact that turned into business for me,” David stated. “I read the Chamber’s monthly newsletter and the weekly email to keep up with what’s going on in the business community.”

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