One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 130 years of family serving family.
Who she is: Shequella “Shay” Smith, Glider Express shift manager
Years at the Exchange: 13 years
Her Exchange career: Smith started as a laborer at the Smoke Bomb Hill Express.
“As a laborer, I was helping the registers and food concepts. Then I became a rover, someone who can do every aspect of the store from stocking to cleaning. Then I became a shift manager.”
Military connections: Smith’s stepfather served in the Army for 22 years, retiring as a staff sergeant with the 82nd Airborne.
“He treats me like his own, like we’ve known each other forever,” Smith said.
What brought her to the Exchange: “My stepfather is the reason I applied. It was hard finding a job on the outside. He told me to give it a try, and that’s what I did.”
Memorable moments: “Recently, in the last few years, when store managers have moved, leadership has put me in the acting store manager spot. It makes me feel like I bring value to the team and respect what I’m able to do.
“I like to joke. The Soldiers have a hard job to do. They just need a laugh sometimes. … When a customer comes to self-checkout and forgets their wallet, for example, I don’t give them a hard time. Everyone is forgetful.
“When I was a laborer at the Smoke Bomb Hill Express, we didn’t have the electric pallet jacks yet. We had to offload pallets of water from the truck one day in the rain. Management saw we were tired, gave us drinks and made sure we were able to warm up because it was pouring that day. Even though we had rain jackets on, we were still getting drenched. It wasn’t great, but I understood we needed to get it done. I appreciate that the managers saw we were taking it in our hands to get it done while getting drenched.”
Family serving family: “To me, it means we come here, leave our problems at the door and treat everyone like family. We make sure the shoppers get taken care of. If there’s an issue, we help them and make sure they’re happy when they visit the store.”
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