Co-op Wins Business of the Year

Maybe you’ve heard, maybe you haven’t? So, in case you missed it, 该皇冠博彩最近被芒特弗农商会评为2021年度最佳企业! 这个奖让我们百感交集:骄傲、谦卑、荣幸、感激. Or, as Tony would say: tickled.

在1月26日为芒特弗农商会会员播放的视频颁奖典礼上, 美国商会主席安迪·梅耶尔(Andy Mayer)坦率地宣布了这一奖项:“我不会用一些线索让你猜出我们的年度企业是谁, because you would figure it out immediately. 我们的2021年度最佳企业是斯卡吉特谷食品皇冠博彩!”

梅耶尔继续解释说，尽管过去两年企业所面临的挑战，Co-op也未能幸免, it has continued to be the anchor for downtown business, with values and principles that go beyond the bottom line. 他还表示，Co-op在社区中的作用不应该让人感到意外，因为我们一直在为我们的成员提供服务, the Valley, and surrounding areas by providing good food at a good price, for nearly 50 years.

它的长寿、独特的性格和多样化的供品是远近闻名的. 我无法告诉你，当我遇到来自全州和其他地方的人时，我有多少次, they tell me, ‘Oh, Mount Vernon? I love your food co-op!”

总经理Tony White代表Co-op接受了该奖项，并指出了我们为将COVID-19在店内传播的风险降至最低而采取的积极措施, 以及优先考虑我们的员工利益相关者群体，作为持续成功和弹性的关键. “我想说，口罩政策可能是当地企业最感谢我们的政策,” White said. 当地企业也纷纷效仿，经常对自己的客户说，他们是在效仿皇冠博彩的做法.”

Co-op也是该地区首批为一线员工提供奖金的企业之一, along with a premium hero pay wage. As the pandemic continued, and the hero pay ended, 皇冠博彩推出了一种新的宜居工资模式，并在2021年支付了奖金和利润分成.

In closing, 托尼赞扬了员工在这样一个动荡时期与会员和购物者的互动方式, “2021 required resiliency, fortitude, and compassion, 我相信我们的员工每天都能做到这一点.”

I agree whole-heartedly.

Recognized by the Mount Vernon business community, 这个奖项充分说明了皇冠博彩的独特之处. 并不是所有的奖项都是平等的:我曾经工作过的一家企业名列华盛顿最佳工作场所榜单, according to Seattle Business Magazine, an impressive accolade and smart recruiting tool.  The workplace boasted Nerf guns, a ping-pong table, an open workspace, a radically fun culture, and other work perks.

直到我被录用并被分配去申请《皇冠网址》(Seattle Business Magazine)的最佳办公地点之后，我才明白了这个过程. Apply? 结果，我们提名了自己，我想说的是，我们甚至还付了申请费. So, we won. Again. Because we paid to play. As the person in charge of marketing our Best Place status, I wasn’t all that eager to shout it from the rooftops. “Best Ever” felt performative and disingenuous. I’d compare it to winning a race of one person, 然后到处宣传我是斯卡吉特山谷跑得最快的人. Delusions of grandeur.

这并不是说它不是一个工作的好地方(它确实是), or that I’m not a fast runner (I’m actually not), 但最佳位置或最快跑者的说法是不合理的, and undeserved. Plus, 如果你曾经被Nerf枪击中，而你却试图集中精力说你的工作场所是最好的，因为它有Nerf枪, you’d quit. I did.

Now, I get to share this hard-earned, well-deserved achievement with everyone I know, the community I live and work in, my hometown. And I’m so very proud—of the award, but mostly of us. The achievement is ours to share.

我为皇冠博彩的本质和它所代表的皇冠博彩价值观感到骄傲. 一想到那些在疫情期间获利的公司，我就感到恼火, 因为消费者别无选择，只能去得来速餐厅，而不是在餐厅吃饭, to shop conveniently instead of conscientiously. Instead of raking it in, 皇冠博彩坚持其非营利商业模式，并回馈给最依赖它的人, right here in Skagit Valley.

我感谢过去四十年来为我们奠定的不可思议的基础, 这让我们度过了最意想不到的未知. Todd Wood may have retired, in his infamously timely fashion, 但他的商业头脑和远见在很大程度上是皇冠网址持续成功的原因. 无数其他将皇冠博彩打造成社区基石的人也是如此, starting from the ground up. 

Beyond that, I am blown away by the dedication of our staff. 我为我的同事们坚韧不拔的精神感到骄傲，这确实很艰难. The managers coming together to keep things moving forward. 销售层的工作人员，以及他们为让合作购物体验变得友好所做的努力. So much wow.

如果有机会向每位Co-op员工单独说几句，我会这么做的. 因为在这里工作的每一个人都应该为他们的付出得到认可. A cashier smiling at you behind their mask even though the last checkout interaction was disheartening; the friendly response to why a favorite food is still out of stock; a healthy meal on your table at the end of the day—those are achievements. And please tell me you saw the photo of Dale S. snowshoeing to work in December? 这就是我们所说的“超额成就”，或者“加倍努力”.

在过去的几年里，皇冠网址的员工积累了很多额外的里程，但你也一样. 许多Co-op的顾客特地来这里购物，支持我们. 你们的忠诚和耐心是我们被称为“年度最佳企业”的另一个原因.

所以，谢谢你们作为一个社区，继续为彼此挺身而出. I am proud to be a small part of it, 甚至更自豪地站在屋顶上高呼“年度最佳企业”! Because it’s true! 毕竟，它是属于社区的:一群你和我，我们值得拥有它.

在我们即将迎来皇冠博彩成立50周年之际，我想说，我们正走在通往世纪商业之路的路上.