Kathy Shirley
Like many Sobeys employees, Kathy Shirley loves to give back, but recently her way of helping was a lot more personal — and involved. When her friend and co-worker Mylene’s 11-year-old daughter Ica, who had already battled a rare form of liver cancer, was facing another medical emergency, Kathy offered to help in any way; a few weeks later, she said yes to a liver transplant. After a battery of tests, Kathy was in an operating room having a portion of her liver transplanted to Ica. She returned to work following a rocky recovery, and Ica’s tests have been clear and she’s back in school. “It’s really fulfilling seeing her happy and healthy and being a normal kid,” said Kathy. She credits her co-workers for always being so supportive. “They’re the best people; Sobeys is my second home,” she said. This process has renewed her quest to stay real, which to her means to live in the moment, be kind, and never be afraid to laugh or cry.
Shilpa Sibal
With 350 employees from 28 countries who work 24/7, Human Resources at the Vaughan RSC is a busy place. Shilpa Silba loves that “every day is a new day with different challenges that we take on and solve as a team.” In her short time at the Vaughan RSC, she has helped with immigration issues and has become like family to many employees, sharing their happiness when they achieve a milestone at the office or receive exciting news from home. One of her proudest moments is when an employee’s family was finally able to immigrate to Canada after a long wait, and he was so excited to welcome them to their new home. Another man, who saw his family only by Skype for years, had a friend take a video to share when he finally picked up his family at the airport. “It’s hard to not cry, it hits home,” Shilpa said. Shilpa embodies the values of inclusion, respect, collaboration and excellence that we should all aspire to bring into our workplaces.
Edon Trevizan
As an immigrant who came to Canada alone, Edon Trevizan appreciates the family he has at Sobeys, and loves working his way up at a brand new store. “It’s a really nice store, everything new, and a new concept in this area. Everybody is so happy we’re open,” he said. Because he appreciates his new life, he’s very happy to give back. “Edon has organized co-op student placements and even took a course in sign language to communicate with customers,” wrote his manager in his Value Champion nomination letter. Edon has also organized many charitable events including a National Pet Day fundraiser and a Sick Kids raffl e, often on his own time. But it’s the food bank drives that are truly meaningful for him. “I love helping … it’s a really good way to give back to the community, and it’s really close to my heart. I’m from a country where people sometimes struggle for food,” he said. “At Christmas and Thanksgiving we share food with people who don’t have anything.”
Felipe Patrick Tilos
Originally from the Philippines, Felipe Tilos travelled to 28 countries around the world in a previous career before immigrating to Canada in 2012; he visited Calgary during the Stampede and loved the city enough to stay. Sobeys was intended to be a temporary job when he first arrived, but he grew to love the company too, and moved up the ranks quickly, and for good reason. “His enthusiasm and passion are contagious to me and the entire team,” wrote his manager. “Felipe is always smiling, laughing, volunteering to help and he wants to continue to advance in the company.” Known for always jumping in to help and for innovation such as improved shellfish storage, Felipe says “always encourage people to be kind. For my team, I want to build that culture of kindness and customer service.” For Felipe, acting with integrity influences everything he does. “It covers trust, being honest even though nobody is watching, and ensuring people can rely on you to get the job done — without doing it for credit.”
Bhudevi Thimmasani
For the last five years, the customers who shop at Bhudevi Thimmasani’s Oakville, Ontario, store have been eating a lot healthier, and it’s thanks to her work as a dedicated salad bar operator in the produce section. “I always think about what I would want as a customer: Good presentation and quality, top ingredients, and a neat and clean space,” she said. Her manager says it was tough to justify hiring a full-time employee just for salads, especially since their store’s salad bar wasn’t a big seller. Three years later with Devi in charge, sales have tripled and customers rave about the selection. “My pictures of her counters and displays have been used on Sobeys Facebook pages and by category management to show stores what a salad bar display should look like,” wrote her manager. Pride in her work is a big motivator for Devi. She runs her section expertly, ordering supplies, training new employees, ensuring food safety guidelines are followed, and keeping shrink and labour below budget.
Pamela Tanton
Nominated for her role in organizing many fundraisers at her southwestern Ontario store, it is obvious that serving the community is important to Pamela Tanton. “The food bank is a big charity for us; we’ve done stuff an ambulance, fire truck and police car events, plus a charity for the children’s hospital in London that was 97 per cent staff driven,” said Pamela. “I come from a big farming family, and my parents instilled in me their good values and the drive to give back to my community. When I got my first job my Dad said You have my name, you represent me,’ and I think of him all the time.” Because she sees her Sobeys coworkers as her extended family, she strives to make sure the 65 people on her team all have a good work-life balance. “I’m personally committed to giving back 100 per cent,” said Pamela, joking that “when I go out of this world, I want to make sure I’m going up, not down.”
Mouna El Gaied Taboubi
“I remember my first interview in 2002” at Sobeys, says Mouna Elgaied Taboubi. “They asked me, what is unacceptable for you? I said, disrespect.” A tenacious, principled, dedicated woman, Mouna had been a nutritionist in Tunisia before immigrating to Canada. While completing additional studies in nutrition at university in Canada, she took a part-time job at Sobeys and never left. “For me, it was another challenge,” she says, one that she says complements her main interest in nutrition. Mouna loves sharing what Rachelle Béry has to offer throughout her community and has become friends with many of her clients. She also loves challenging herself and learning. “Rachelle Béry has been a school for me since 2002,” she says proudly. “I love working with a team that consistently gives me their all,” Mouna says. “At Sobeys, we are a family feeding familes,” she says with a smile, “and I’m living it.”
Connor Stapleton
For Connor Stapleton, Sobeys is his first job, and after five years his store feels like a second home. “When I help somebody it’s almost like helping someone in my family,” he said. “My Sobeys is its own community and is our home, for us and anyone who wants to join.” Putting Always Place the Customer First into practice, Connor went above and beyond to help a customer who was struggling. The woman usually shopped with a helper but this day she was alone and seemed confused when she tried to pay for her groceries. When she started to get upset, Connor paid $15 for her groceries himself. “I’d do it for anybody, that’s how I reacted,” said Connor. “Customers are at the heart of everything at Sobeys,” he said. “If there’s someone who needs help or even looks like they need help but not asking, we help them.” “Newfoundlanders are seen as friendly and open, and so between that and working at Sobeys, it’s like a big family dinner, with everyone chatting.”
Joe Sirianni
Energy and enthusiasm radiates from Joe Siranni, a 30-year Sobeys employee who is now a District Operator after years working in stores, most recently as a manager. It was in that role that he befriended a talkative older gentleman who shopped every day. “I knew him for about two years and we talked about everything,” said Joe, adding that the man often shared their conversations with his family. When his daughter informed Joe and his assistant manager that her father had passed away, they took the news hard and later attended his funeral, to the family’s surprise. “We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he said. As a manager, Joe understands the importance of a can-do attitude. “I’m loud, enthusiastic and passionate — that’s what I’m about, and it rubs off,” he said. “Teams who connect and build relationships are the key ingredients for creating a welcoming environment in stores,” he said. “Customers see that and feel it, and they start referring to it as my store’.”
Michael Short
For Michael Short, being a pharmacist is more than just working behind a counter. In 2017, he proposed a partnership between Sobeys and the Ottawa chapter of St. John Ambulance in an effort to help with the growing opioid epidemic in Canada. “Michael has been an integral part of establishing and maintaining this strong relationship,” wrote his manager. Without Michael’s innovation, engagement and continued passion towards the program it would not be where it is today. Every month Michael attends the Mental Health First Aid course run by the charitable organization, where he educates volunteers about opioid substance use, how to recognize the signs of overdose, and how to respond using an emergency kit. Now at a crisis level, opioids were involved in more than 10,000 deaths in Canada in a 30-month span, impacting people of all socioeconomic levels in rural and urban areas. “I think it is so important for us to connect with our customers by expressing humility and humanity,” said Michael.
