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September 2013 ANN IVER SARY
Reaching for More:
Brookshire Grocery Co. Makes Higher Education a Reality One of Brookshire Grocery Co.’s longest standing principles has been to value its people, and that doesn’t stop when they clock out. In fact, the company is helping them achieve more outside of work than ever before.
In 2012, the company partnered with the WAFC and Tyler Junior College (TJC) to offer the Retail Management Certificate to employees as an opportunity to learn more by taking classes specific to the retail industry.
Over the past two years, BGC has focused on promoting educational opportunities for all employees. It began with President and CEO Rick Rayford’s involvement in the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC), where he serves as member of the board of directors.
Some 120 employees took courses between fall 2012 and spring 2013, and BGC experienced the largest inaugural class the association has ever seen. Employees of all career levels, backgrounds and locations have participated.
In addition to the Retail Management Certificate, BGC wants upper-level leaders who may already have a college degree to learn more about the industry. Andy Newberry, VP of category management analytics, as well as Trent Brookshire, SVP/division manager, have both completed the 12-week-long Food Industry Management (FIM) Program at the University of Southern California. Britt Brookshire, a third-generation Brookshire family member and a member of BGC’s board of directors, has also
“I am extremely excited to be a part of this program. I began my career with Brookshire’s at the age of 16 and, after a year of college, had the opportunity to take an assistant manager position and didn’t finish my degree. After taking the first two classes, I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to further my education, which is something I have wanted to do for a long time. The classes are very beneficial and the material would have been very foreign without the retail experience with the company. The classes are very well structured, and I have experienced benefits by implementing what we are learning into my management. I am an avid ambassador of the program and sing its praises to all the employees I encounter. I know that as a company we will be better leaders for it.”
Trent Brookshire
completed the FIM program. Trent, whose great-grandfather founded BGC, believes that education is something that will continue to grow. “Our industry is changing and education is necessary now more than ever,” he said. “The Retail Management Certificate, specifi-
—Jimmy Decker, market/deli/bakery specialist and 17-year employee
cally, is an unprecedented opportunity for our company. You can see the desire to learn based on how many employees are enrolled in the program. I believe that education will be one of the pillars for our company’s future. We want to equip ourselves to not only survive, but to thrive in this industry.” Andy Newberry excelled in the FIM program, and was named “Student of the Year” by his peers. “The FIM program was a tremendous learning opportunity,” Newberry said. “The variance of personal and professional backgrounds in the class enabled us to better understand what makes different leaders and companies successful, and we learned how to apply those concepts to our own companies.”
MAKING IT BIGGER AND BETTER FOR OVER 85 YEARS AT BROOKSHIRE’S. Andy Newberry
BGC has had more than 10 employees attend the University of Southern California’s Food Industry Executive Program (FIEP), a shortened version of the FIM program that teaches participants the business tools needed to achieve high performance in the food industry.
That’s Wright ® Brand Bacon—serving up thick and hearty slices of big, meaty bacon for nearly a century. We’re proud to be a partt of Brookshire’ We’re Brookshire’ss heritage and a delicious tradition to thousands of your customers.
Here’ Here’ss to many more birthdays together! © 2013 Tyson Tyson Foods, Inc. Wright and Bigger Better Bacon are trademarks and registered trademarks owned by Tyson Tyson Foods, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
58 Brookshire Grocery Co. 85th Anniversary – A Shelby Report Special Section
Devon Hawthorn, Angela Ables, Cindy Murphy, Rick Rayford, Brent Nelson and Joe Stephens at the USC Executive Program.
theshelbyreport.com