Ontario

Award Recipients

1. Billy Graham, Franchisee, Foodland Ontario, Blenheim, Mississauga, Acton

   Billy and Liz Graham exemplify our community-based culture at Foodland and are true family-oriented store operators. They’ve showed community leadership during the pandemic, partnering with Chapman’s ice-cream to store vaccines, and sponsoring vaccine clinics. They helped local businesses by selling their products in the stores during lockdowns, among other great business partnerships and donations to ensure vulnerable members of the community received the support they needed.

2. Karen Draper, Franchisee, Foodland Frankford

   Karen Draper was a safety pioneer during COVID, helping her community in Frankford feel safe from the earliest days of the pandemic. She supported her clientele with delivery and curb-side pickups. She’s truly been a leader in the community, and personally led efforts to recognize and support local nurses at the community’s hospital.

3. Karine Boucher, Franchisee, Foodland Russell

   On March 15, 2020, Karine told her customers on Facebook that her store in Russell would offer free delivery to anyone within 15 km. The local Kin Club reached out to her to support organizing all the deliveries, and she had a team at her store focused making these deliveries Monday to Friday, as well as offering curb side pick up.

4. Mark Knoester, Franchise Operator, Sobeys Fenelon Falls

   During the pandemic, Mark led from the front—literally—by being the front door greeter at his Fenoto make sure he explained to his customers the new procedures and to show support for his team. He installed snow shelters to keep his customers warm while they patiently waited to enter the store. His demonstrated leadership, patience and positive attitude clearly helped his team and customers feel safe.

5. Cassandra Tipping, Front End Manager, Sobeys Oxford & Wonderland

   Cassandra’s London store was on the route for a march on June 11, 2021 led by the local Muslim community in response to a horrific attack that killed four people. Cassandra organized a group of volunteers to hand-out refreshments, flowers, and ribbons to participants. She was also integral in the store’s efforts to raise money for the family involved. Her connection with her staff, co-workers, and customers is nothing short of inspiring. 

6. Deb Butler, Front End Manager, Sobeys Simcoe

   Deb has proactively supported the frontline team at the Simcoe Sobeys navigate the challenges for mental health and wellbeing. She set up time every week to check on each cashier individually to address any and all concerns immediately. Her Store Operator says “Deb makes running the Front End look easy.”

7. Lawrence Lumanglas, Acting Store Manager, IGA Red Lake

   Lawrence has gone above and beyond for the Red Lake IGA as the community was dealing with potential evacuation due to forest fires.  He had personally picked and delivered multiple food orders for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry so that they could keep the multiple fire crews fed; as they battled to contain more than 100 fires in the area.  He did a great job keeping the remaining employees calm and focused and has been a key contact for the municipality. 

8. Albert Tang, Pharmacy Manager, FreshCo Markham

   Albert is a leader in exemplifying a customer-first mentality in growing his business and coaching his team at the Markham FreshCo Pharmacy. Customers look for Albert by name to solve their health problems and Albert often times comes to the pharmacy on his day off to make sure his patients are taken care of.

   He is one of the top performers in Ontario for clinical Services revenue and he is always striving to be the best clinician he can be with a clear focus on caring for his customers.

9. Allan Roy, Team Lead Admin., David Sobey automated RSC 92

   In the midst of the chaos the pandemic has caused in distribution, Allan played an instrumental role in making his fellow teammates at the David Sobey Automated RSC in Vaughan, and everyone that belongs to the RSC family, feel safe coming to work.

   Allan worked with all of ther RSC’s third parties to ensure our COVID-19 protocols were understood and met. Allan also ensured their facilities housekeepers were equipped with proper safety attire, personal protective equipment, and addressed any feelings of fear and anxiety.

10. Chris Menary, Fleet Solutions Manager, GTA Voila

    During the pandemic, Chris led the build of 225 vans in the GTA within all COVID protocols. He ensured that our delivery vans were cleaned frequently and thoroughly, minimizing the risk of COVID-19 exposure for Voilà’s business continuity during the height of the pandemic. During our last COVID surge (Dec. 21), Chris volunteered to re-position his members of his shunting team in delivery (to support sales) and spent the week shunting in order to provide our customer’s with as many orders as possible. He consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the success of the Voilà and thrill our customers.

11. Hamza Rizwan, Franchise Operator, Airport & Countryside Chalo! FreshCo, Brampton

    Hamza has a track record of community partnerships and neighbourhood revitalization. He pushes other franchisee’s and operators to grow their brand through community involvement and is always willing to assist any colleague (in Ontario or Western Canada) who needs guidance or support with launching their community partnerships. He is on a first-name basis with Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, who has attended numerous community fund-raising events. Hamza is a true ambassador of both the FreshCo/Chalo brands, and discount banner community partnerships.

12. Paul Haddow, Franchise Operator, Upper Gage & Fennell FreshCo, Hamilton

    Paul is continually innovating and identifying ways to connect with his customers and support his community. He partnered with a local taxi service to provide a delivery service to support those customers. He wanted to ensure they continued to receive quality fresh food at lower prices that they got in store and ensure they had the necessities needed to maintain their health. This was in addition to the existing partnerships with St. Vincent de Paul and the Good Shepherd of Hamilton to provide fresh food and food donation bags to those most vulnerable in his community.  

13. Kimberly Gardiner, Franchisee in Training, FreshCo, Espanola

    Through COVID, Kim assisted with our West expansion and setting up new stores. Kim’s ongoing dedication in supporting the various stores has kept her on the road where she roughly spent over 100 days away from her home and family. Kim continues to support the business with pride and ownership.

14. Bali Singh, Franchise Operator, FreshCo, Brampton West

    Bali started his community involvement when he was a produce manager in Sobeys over 15 years ago. He spearheaded a lot of community partnerships, including “Cram-a-Cruiser” events in Brampton, ON. Bali broke a record for the most amount of food ever donated for “Cram-a-Cruiser” in Brampton. His latest partnership has been with a local church. Bali has been a true champion of community involvement.

15. Fadi Hammoud, Franchise Operator, Huron Church & Tecumseh FreshCo, Windsor

    Fadi was approached by one of the police organizers responding to lengthy protests at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. They asked him to supply food for 800 police officers who were working to open the bridge and get traffic moving. He did not hesitate to help even though had no idea at first how to pull this together. Fadi supplied countless bottles of water and over 1000 sub sandwiches. An incredible feat given the fact the store is not full service and his team had to improvise almost everything to make it work.