I am still at Albertsons and it will be my 30th year in March I’m still working in Pharmacy Systems after joining the group in 2001. My wife, Theresa, is also still working at Albertsons and has gone from being the part-time pharmacist while we raised our kids, to one of our integration trainers during our last systems conversion, and is not a pharmacy manager. She is about to open her first new store in Star, ID this weekend. So proud of watching her do all the things she always wanted to do, but couldn’t while she took the brunt of raising our kids while I worked. My son, Noah, is 26 and is still living at home with us. Happy for this because I know he is safe and sound. He is currently working at a local pizza restaurant here in Eagle, ID. Finally, my daughter, Marin, is 23 (almost 24). She is currently in her 3rd year of pharmacy school at Rosalind Franklin University in Illinois. One of her favorite instructors has been Janeen Winnike (one of our very own alumni). Photo is all of us, plus a “photo bomb” from our great niece, Abby.
Theresa, Noah, Lindsey (Noah’s Fiancé), and I all live in our home in Eagle, Idaho (suburb of Boise) with 2 dogs (Doc and Zella) and 2 cats (Daisy and Zazu). My daughter, Marin, lives in our home in Deer Park, IL with her 2 dogs (which I actually think are beavers because they have eaten all my old wooden furniture) and her 2 cats. Marin is an avid animal lover and all of her pets are rescue animals (with the exception of one of the cats, her first pet of her own which was a Christmas present to keep her from being lonely). She loves to tell us that she replaced all of us with a pet and emphasizes that she is much happier because the pets do not impose any rules and just require love and food.
I am still an avid college football fan, although those Nebraska Cornhuskers have left something to be desired in the last decade. Like the IOWA fans of the 90’s and 2000’s I am still hopeful for next season. I am done coaching youth football, but often think about starting up again. Just no time to devote to that any longer. (Appreciate being able to do that for so long… Thanks again Dimos and Mound for supporting that!)
I have to say my best vacation was just this last July. My family (Theresa, Noah, Marin, Lindsey, and I ) + our 2 dogs drove to the Oregon coast and spent the holiday week in a VRBO rented home to celebrating my 52nd birthday. Cool weather, long walks on the beach with the dogs (on no leash), kite flying, and lots of fun and laughter. Just what we all needed!
I have so many memories after 30 years at Albertsons– but it’s all about the people. My time in Omaha was always fun and thanks to that I met a great many successful leaders of Osco-Savon. Loved the family feel of Osco, the Omaha Market holiday Christmas parties, and pharmacy managers meeting outings in Kansas City. Thanks to Randy, Curt, Stan, Tom, Tim, Mike, Marc, and so many others. A great memory was meeting Larry Wahlstrom for the first time. I was staying at the Courtyard Marriot in Oakbrook and was checking with the front desk clerk to ask if there was a shuttle that could take me to the Oakbrook training center for my pharmacy manager’s classes. Larry overheard me talking with the desk clerk and said, “I am going to the office. I can give you a ride there.” He then invited me to have breakfast with him and we talked about a few odds and ends. When I inquired, “May I ask your name and what you do for American Stores?” Larry replied with his name and said, “I am the VP of Operations for the East”. Not only did he offer me a ride, invite me to breakfast, and make me feel like I was where I belonged; he made me feel appreciated. I was in shock that he was so open to a conversation and was caring. In my experience coming from Walgreens as a former drug store assistant manager (while going to Pharmacy School), the VPs and DMs were impersonal and just being barked at us while doing store visits. There, I felt like just another “pawn”. I was very impressed by Larry and later that day, my instructor Chris Dimos. Chris was entertaining, educational, and always had that infectious personality which inspired greatness. Those types of interactions stay with someone a long time. Then when the opportunity came to move to Franklin Park to work for both Chris Dimos and Randy Mound, I was thrilled. I had a great opportunity to work with the both of them and others like Bobbie Riley and Dan Covey in the Rx Systems Department. So much of what they taught me is still alive and well in the department today and being passed on to the next generation of leaders. Their positive impression still drives me today after 21 years in the same department. That does not discount many other relationships which I will always cherish over the years with all of the rest of you. Each of you had an impact on my career and my growth. Happy to know each of you and a big thank you to each of you for helping me grow to the leader I am today.