We treat the "Wal-Mart Greeter" job as a punch line. Like saying someone has their next job lined up....dah dum.
But they can become the face of the store.
Alabama News Network is up Harrison Road from the Mid-Town Wal-Mart on Ann Street, and I've spent a lot of dollars there in the three years we've been in our new studios. So I got to know "Roy", the greeter for several years. He'd always comment on me being "on ABC", and now and then we would have a longer conversation. He asked me to guess where he had worked downtown for more than 20 years, eventually telling me it was at a car wash. I knew he had a wife and kids...but not much more. It was a friendly in-passing relationship, always with a smile.
I had not seen him for several weeks when I finally asked a cashier if he was OK. "He died yesterday", she told me, telling a story of open heart surgery, complications, and death.
Today a memorial to him is installed at the front of the store:
I signed the card with heartfelt sympathy for his survivors. You can read Roy Powell's obituary here. He was 84, and I hope I treated him with the respect I felt for him, especially considering his working full-time at an age when many men are long since retired.
Roy's Funeral will be tomorrow--Sunday.
[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.timlennox.com]
But they can become the face of the store.
Alabama News Network is up Harrison Road from the Mid-Town Wal-Mart on Ann Street, and I've spent a lot of dollars there in the three years we've been in our new studios. So I got to know "Roy", the greeter for several years. He'd always comment on me being "on ABC", and now and then we would have a longer conversation. He asked me to guess where he had worked downtown for more than 20 years, eventually telling me it was at a car wash. I knew he had a wife and kids...but not much more. It was a friendly in-passing relationship, always with a smile.
I had not seen him for several weeks when I finally asked a cashier if he was OK. "He died yesterday", she told me, telling a story of open heart surgery, complications, and death.
Today a memorial to him is installed at the front of the store:
Roy's Funeral will be tomorrow--Sunday.[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.timlennox.com]
He always had a smile and warm greeting when I walked in the store, generally on Friday mornings. i'm saddened to hear the news of his death.
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