Gail Brown recently joined the Alumni Club and shares these thoughts.
The date was January 7, 1979; Yes, a long time ago.........This was my first day as a cashier at Skaggs in Omaha, Nebraska. I was attending school and needed a part-time job to fund my fun! I was going to do this until I graduated from Central High School as then I was planning on attending UNO (University of Nebraska - Omaha) and earn a degree in Psychology.
I soon found retailing fun and not work and I was good at it. My manager at the time Pete Albanese and Rob Harman encouraged me to go into management. (I had no desire) But being the poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks the money was contagious.... I finally agreed to try management and here I am in 2010 still in Retail management! I did finally earn that degree in 2009 as I had to learn/study while transitioning to CVS!
After acquisitions with American Stores, Osco and Albertsons...I worked at all of them... I find myself as a District Manager with CVS in awesome Arizona. I look back at my career and wonder how it became a career? I worked with some amazing people who are now splintered through Albertsons, Supervalu and CVS just to mention a few. The experiences are ones that now make me laugh and sometimes cry but all worthwhile. I especially remember being asked by Kevin Tripp to partner with Peggy Pfaltzgraff and launch a Drug Division Women's group...I remembering him encouraging us to go for it as all the others have failed and he would support whatever we needed to do to get the group rolling, and he kept his word and we kept ours... MESA (Albertson's Women in Management Group), was launched and was successful and Kevin was our "Token Guy" gracefully taking all our jabs and accepting our "Girl Shirts".
I hesitated joining the Alumni Club as I kept telling myself Alumni clubs are for "old" people. Well I do not think I am old but I do have lots of memories. As I read through the past Connections I find myself remembering people like; Tork Fuglestad, Bill Bates, Dave Biderman, Al Hoskin, Dennis Palmer, Kevin Tripp, Peggy Pfaltzgraff, John Terry, Stan Petersen, Larry Wahlstrom and Ken Walker and wonder how I made it through all of them with my sanity....as I smile!
So I guess I am an Alumni and proud of it!
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