Pictured are Rhonda McInturff, Judy Mork, Laurie French and Roxy Parise

In presenting the ABCD Award, Assistance League members, Joani Carrington, Judy Mork and Roxy Parise, had this wonderful conversation about the award recipient.

Displays 
Joani: Have you ever walked through the store and just looked at all the displays? They are fabulous! It doesn’t “just happen”, it takes a lot of preplanning. Items have to be gathered, stashed, cleaned and priced. Then there is a schedule as to when the seasonal item are put out on display. As customers come and purchase those great items, someone has to notice the shelves are getting empty and restock them, hopefully, keeping the same theme. Whether it be the color, dishes, chicken, vintage or vases. The goal is to keep the store looking, not just good, but great.

Do you know who does most of that? This person has been a member for more than 10 years. She spends countless hours making sure the store looks great. Thanks to her efforts, our Thrift & Gift Shop really is a boutique.

Annex Organization
Judy: Have you walked through the Annex lately? Maybe looking for where an item should be stored? It’s pretty easy to see where things go. The tubs are marked as to what is in them; Winter, Spring Summer or Fall. Also Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, etc. Categories are put together…it’s so well organized. It doesn’t just stay that way, someone has to continually be making sure it stays that way.

Do you know who does most of that? She not only keeps us organized, she also does the hard lines training. She’s often at the store working away, answering questions – How much should this be? Do we sell this? Where does this go? The list goes on and on… Thanks to her effort, our Thrift & Gift Shop really is a special place and fun to be there.

Christmas/Prep/Pricing/Management
Roxy: Have you walked through the store during Christmas season? So much stuff. It looks magical. Christmas everywhere. All put right where it should be. The shop makes a lot of money during November and December. Way before the season starts, item get sorted, cleaned and priced.

Do you know who does most of that? Throughout the year, she is taking bins of Christmas home to work on cleaning and pricing. When it’s time to turn the store into the Holiday, this girl makes it happen. She comes in the day before and clears off the shelves. She already knows the inventory and has a plan as to where items need to go. Angels here, nutcrackers there. Let’s see, the wreaths can go here, wrapping and lights there. She has it all organized. When the the volunteer members arrive, she is ready to orchestrate the show.  Thanks to her efforts, our Thrift & Gift Shop really is a Holiday event.

This year’s Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award goes to a very deserving Laurie French!