Prince Frederick Walmart Store Manager Tim Crowley and Regional Market Manager Cherita Mariner.
Prince Frederick, MD – Almost a quarter of a century to the day it first opened, the Prince Frederick Walmart celebrated a grand reopening Friday, Nov. 11. The early morning ceremony at the store on the southbound side of Route 2/4 included the presentation of $10,000 worth of grants to nine local organizations by the Walmart Foundation, acknowledgements of long-time service by employees and free cake.
“We have the best store possible for our neighborhood,” said store manager Tim Crowley, who noted that an army of store employees worked about 12 weeks to remodel the store.
Walmart was founded by Sam Walton, who purchased a “five and dime” store in Bentonville, Ark. in 1950. Eventually, Walton’s single store morphed into a chain and during the late 1960s the chain started to expand. By 1990, “Wal-Mart,” as it was known by then, became the largest U.S. retailer by revenue. In 1991 Maryland was one of six Northeast states that were added to Wal-Mart’s ever-expanding map. The first two Wal-Marts in Maryland were located in Easton and Prince Frederick. Both were open for business on the same day. In the past 25 years, Walmart (as of 2008 its name no longer hyphenated) has gone worldwide.
“Are you fired up?” District market manager Charita Mariner asked store employees. After handing out the ceremonial checks and recognizing store staff, Mariner led the group in the Walmart cheer. In addition to the grants, Mariner noted the Walmart Foundation donated three million pounds of food to area food banks.
The organizations receiving grants were New Birth by Faith for All People ($500), Community Cares, Community Does ($1,000), Launching Educational Assistance Programs (LEAP) Forward ($2,000), Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department ($500), Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department ($2,000), Southern Middle School ($300), Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maryland ($1,500), Tri-County Youth Service Bureau ($1,200) and SMILE Ecumenical Ministries Inc. ($1,000).
Brian Ficke of the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department told TheBayNet.com that Company 2 would be using their $2,000 allocation to make technology upgrades at their headquarters. Among the local organizations participating in the reopening was the Calvert High School Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, which presented the colors. Cadet Lt. Rodriguez sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“The [remodeling] project represents Walmart’s reinvestment in the store, its customers and the community,” a Walmart media advisory stated. “The remodel provides expanded hardware and automotive departments, a refreshed electronics department and six new self-checkout stations.” The Prince Frederick store also has a remodeled pharmacy which now includes a “private consultation room.”
The corporate media advisory also stated that Walmart “is committed to serving the Prince Frederick community and will support organizations through an approximate $2,000 investment in the coming months. The commitment to the community goes beyond philanthropy. The investment is a whole company undertaking that is woven into Walmart’s day-to-day business activities, creating value by accelerating job mobility, developing suppliers and small businesses, lowering the environmental footprint of Walmart’s operations and more.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
