Food Lion Honors 2018 Store Manager of the Year

Food Lion has named Annette Johnson its Ralph W. Ketner 2018 Store Manager of the Year. The award presentation took place Feb. 7 at the company’s headquarters in Salisbury, N.C. Johnson is the store manager at a Virginia Beach, Va., Food Lion at 5242 Fairfield Shopping Centre.

 “I’m here today because of everyone who believed in me, and I can’t thank all of those individuals enough,” said Johnson on receiving the award. “All things are possible when you believe, and this honor is an example of that. I love my job as a Food Lion store manager and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Chosen from a group of more than 1,000 store managers across the banner, Johnson has worked at Food Lion for 25 years, the last 14 as a store manager. She started with the company a cashier, and then held various customer service roles before rising to her current position.

“The commitment our store managers show to the towns and cities they serve and to their teams in their stores makes me so proud, and it’s important for us at Food Lion to come together and recognize their leadership,” noted Food Lion President Meg Ham  at the presentation ceremony. “In addition to honoring the top four divisional winners and naming our Store Manager of the Year, today is about highlighting all of our more than 1,000 store managers because they are so deeply passionate and committed to serving our customers and communities every day.”

The three other store managers who received awards for exceptional leadership in their respective divisions are as follows:

• JD Jones, Radford, Va.
• Terry McNeill, Oak Island, N.C.
• Terry Smith, Harrisburg, N.C.

Named for the company’s late co-founder, Food Lion’s Ralph W. Ketner Store Manager Excellence Awards recognize and honor exceptional store managers who enrich the lives of Food Lion's customers, associates and the communities they serve, successfully lead the business and support and inspire others.

A company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group, Food Lion has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. Carlisle, Pa.-based Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 4 on Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.