OmahaNebraska.com’s Interview with Ginny Ward (District Vice President, Western District) and Dawn Buzynski (Assistant Vice President, Communications) of Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee’s OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit is a fantastic event.
Please tell me a little bit about the genesis of it: how it all got started and how it became what it is today.
Dawn Buzynski: Our first event in 2022 really started small. It was an opportunity in the Cedar Rapids area. We were a part of a similar event in the greater Des Moines area and we took it. We didn’t copy it; it was something that we took what the need was and the purpose was, and we used it in one of our smaller areas, smaller markets, and really saw the potential and just started building on it. We’ve had events in Cedar Rapids, in the Twin Cities, in Madison, and the Quad Cities, and now we’re here in Omaha.
Ginny Ward: And I think really the benefit that we’ve seen is a lot of these vendors are coming in store by store to come in and to try to get us to sell their product, bring their product in for our customers. And so this kind of gives them the avenue to come in and speak to a lot of stores at one time. And then also the ability to bring it in possibly to the warehouse if it’s a good fit for the vendor and for us as well. This one, I think—I’m not sure how many directors we have. Do we have the total?
Dawn Buzynski: All the store directors, but we also have some store managers. We have leadership on our supply chain side as well that are here, and they’re already interfacing with a few of the contestants because they see the opportunity, and it’s also advice. So somebody who heads up one of our specialty warehouses, he’s already provided advice to a couple of them, to just kind of get them started and what steps they need to take in order to proceed forward, especially when it’s a product that you know the possibility and the need for a stronger way to manufacture and then also broaden that. I can’t think of the term right now, but…
Ginny Ward: So right now they’re doing a lot of speed mentoring. A lot of the directors in the market are here today, and so people signed up for a speed mentoring, so they get that one-on-one interaction with that director on any of the questions that they have, like, “How do I get into your store? What do I need to do? What does the packaging need to look like?” And so, kind of like the speakers talked about, there’s so much to it that you don’t realize that you need to do before you come in. And so that’s kind of I think really why Hy-Vee started this is how do we fill that gap, right? To merge the two together and make sure that we’re giving everything that we can to our customers that they want and really, the grassroots, right? I mean, that’s what Hy-Vee has done for over 90 years, and we believe in our communities, we believe in our people, and the customers coming in are also the people that could be vendors, and so giving them that opportunity to start up and have the dream, you know.
That’s one of the things that impresses me so much about Hy-Vee is the local touch, the caring for the community, all the different events and things you sponsor… So thank you for doing all of these things and being such a vibrant part of our communities, and this [OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit] is pretty amazing. The opportunities that you’ve given people to learn and grow, not just those in the pitch competition…
Dawn Buzynski: Well, people, and even at times we compare it to Shark Tank. I don’t like comparing it to Shark Tank because we are just… those judges, they’re encouraging. We want these finalists to succeed and thrive and grow. So even though there is a set amount of funding that we give in each of these events, we want everybody that shows up here to take something away that’s going to help drive their business, because when we help businesses grow, then the community grows. And when the community grows and the community is thriving, then Hy-Vee thrives as well.
The Shelf Talk that just happened I think was very informative and powerful for a lot of people. Starting out, the complexities that you’re saying that can get solved or enumerated in this speed mentoring… there were just so many bullet points there [Shelf Talk]. If you were writing it by hand, you could not keep up.
Dawn Buzynski: Absolutely, yeah.
Ginny Ward: Well, and it’s good to get it from the vendors that have tried it before and past experiences and how they’ve gained all of this knowledge and then to be able to share it with you, because it’s different from a retailer’s perspective, right? These are the people that have come in and sold to us. And so hearing it from them, I think, is priceless and probably one of the best things that you’re going to hear when you’re here today, being able to make that connection and get that extra experience.
And you’ve done it on both sides.
Ginny Ward: Mm-hmm.
You’ve done it on the acquiring a new vendor side with the speed mentoring and then with this shelf talk you give them that information too. So that helps people try to see the full picture.
Ginny Ward: Absolutely.
Dawn Buzynski: Our store directors know better than anybody what sells in their stores…
Ginny Ward: 100%.
Dawn Buzynski: …so having that conversation and being able to give that feedback that, from experience, saying if you want to succeed, really consider this, this, this, and this. because that is going to help at least me as a store director want to invest in your product and put on my shelves because I know it’s going to sell to my customers.
Ginny Ward: Well, I also think people trust Hy-Vee. I’ve been here since 2011 and I can’t tell you how many local vendors, so I would help to oversee it for the market. And so if you were to get into a Hy-Vee, that there was some… you had to show me your insurance, you had to have a food processing license. And there was a grouping of things that you had to go through so we could make sure it was safe for our customers before we brought it in because our name is important to us. And so we made sure that we did that research. But then Hy-Vee… we have a department at our corporate office that they know the ins and the outs. They know that you have to have the ingredient list. They know that you have to have the ounces, and so we’ve also had that ability where we could say, “Hey, just so you know, the packaging isn’t right, the labeling is not correct.” And then that helped that small business to be able to go back and say, “Okay, I need to make sure that this is correct, so that way I can be in each store.” And so being able to do that and help those small businesses is really what it’s all about.
We were talking earlier about how much you help out the community. I’d like to hear more about your mission, vision, and then also how you fit into the economic landscape of the area.
Ginny Ward: I think… we’ve always said making lives easier, healthier, and happier, and that’s what we do in everything that we do, just being… It’s from the booster club, right? Us personally involved. You know, I opened the Gretna store. I live in Gretna. And so when I see people at the baseball game, it’s Ginny at Hy Vee. And so that’s a sense of pride for us. And so everything that we do, we do because we want to be proud of the company that we are with and that we represent in the community. JDRF, we are huge sponsors of that. The women’s race that we do… there is rarely anything in town that we say no to. We just feel like that’s our responsibility. We live in a community; we want to support the community in anything that we can. I’ve been on lots of different boards and been lots of different things, and it just again I think overarching, it’s just about being proud of what we’re doing and being able to do this. When you help somebody—you get to donate water or you donate the food to a fundraiser, those types of things—you’re personally proud that you work for a company that allows you to be able to do that and knows how important it is, in the 90 years we’ve been around, that we are the community, we represent every aspect of that, and I think that’s what makes it so special for us.
Thank you.
Dawn Buzynski: So if you look at—I just want to expand a little bit, if you look at everything, it’s about impacting lives, making lives better. Impacting lives. And so if you were to categorize the support that we give, it’s… really it’s help. So with JDRF it’s ending hunger. So our support for food banks, food pantries, but also disaster relief in Omaha and Nebraska as a whole, just huge support whenever there’s been something that’s come up.
Ginny Ward: We got an award last year for it as well.
Dawn Buzynski: Yes. So a natural disaster… so the floods… that couldn’t get to…
Ginny Ward: Fremont.
Dawn Buzynski: Correct.
Ginny Ward: Right.
Dawn Buzynski: So Hy-Vee, and it was… Ginny and Frank Woodward reached out to Corporate and said, “We have to do something. That whole town is cut off.” And so, working with the Emergency Management in Nebraska and just making sure that water was brought in by the truckloads. So those are three of the… if you were to categorizethe types of support that we… it’s one of those three: disaster relief, ending hunger, health. But I think it’s also important…what doesn’t get as much of the celebration, see, is just that impact at the micro community level.
Ginny Ward: The grassroot…
Dawn Buzynski: The grassroot portion. And Hy-Vee is always supporting those small… you know, the booster clubs, the schools, and all of that, and it’s that support of the fabric of the community that sometimes doesn’t get as much recognition as the bigger elements that get our support.
Thank you.
Dawn Buzynski: Yeah:
A question about each of you individually. So how did you get to Hy-Vee, what prepared you and that sort of thing, anything you’d like to say?
Ginny Ward: Yeah. I got hired when I was 15 and started on my 16th birthday, so I’ve worked at Hy-Vee for 29 years, and I’ve been at lots of different stores. I think I started off just kind of like everyone else. I mean, my mom was like, “You’ve got to get a job.” And then I had one mentor that said, “Hey, have you ever thought of making Hy-Vee a career and doing this?” And I said I hadn’t thought of it that way, and I got excited. And I thought, “Oh, gosh, they’ve talked to me.” And so just the ability to work for a company that I love and I believe everything… I’m just very passionate about Hy-Vee and I’ve been able to do this job for 29 years and work with these employees and represent the 90,000. And I just think that’s the most important thing… just being able… doing something that I love. Not many people can say that. And at the age of 45, not very many can say they’ve done it for 29 years. And I think as you go around the room and you ask people, “How long have you worked for Hy-Vee?” it’s just amazing the longevity that you get with everyone.
Yes. That, to me, is a real testimonial of the company. Your retention rate’s just huge. You’re doing something right, and then that spills out to the customers, of course.
Ginny Ward: Yeah.
Dawn Buzynski: Yeah. I’ve only been here for three years, so I’m a newborn. My journey was slightly different, but Ginny’s journey is quite the commonality. Especially with store leadership, you will see that many of the store directors did start as that they were part-time in high school or college.
And that’s great because you’re learning it very well.
Ginny Ward: Yes. When I started with Hy-Vee, I was in the drive-up lane. You had to go out and load the cars, and then you got and then you got promoted to be a bagger. So you started here and then you got to go inside and bag groceries. So yeah, it’s been fun. I’ve had lots of different jobs and I’ve loved every single one of them. We’ve talked a lot about how you never lose a title, you always gain one as you move up. So even though I’m a regional vice president, I’m still a bagger. I still load the cars. I mean, I still go into a store today. I love… my favorite job is checking. I love to check customers out. I absolutely love it. And so it’s… you always gain a different job as you go, but you never, never forget the other ones. So… I love it.
Thank you both.
