Shareholders Gain Sense Of History

CASHIER: WALTON’S FAMILY VALUES COMPELLING

Penny Larson, of Wausau, Wis., takes photographs Wednesday in front of the Walmart Visitors Center in downtown Bentonville. Larson was attending her first shareholders meeting after working for Walmart for 23 years.
Penny Larson, of Wausau, Wis., takes photographs Wednesday in front of the Walmart Visitors Center in downtown Bentonville. Larson was attending her first shareholders meeting after working for Walmart for 23 years.

— Penny Larson took time absorbing everything she read as she scanned several interactive displays at the Walmart Visitor Center on Wednesday.

Larson, a cashier at the Wausau, Wis., Walmart store, was one of several thousand employees the company brought to Bentonville for its annual shareholders meeting.

The thing she found most compelling was Walmart founder Sam Walton’s family values.






“I thought it was interesting about his family and how you could touch the screen and learn more,” Larson said. “It really was all about family for him.”

Matthew Johnson of Columbia, S.C., said he felt the same way about Walton and Walmart after meeting other associates from all over the globe.

“I love meeting everybody and seeing that it actually is like a big family,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he learned a great deal about the company’s history just by walking through the visitor center.

“I always wondered what (Sam Walton) was about when he was running Walmart,” Johnson said, noting he discovered a very humble man when reading about Walton in the center. “There’s a lot of history in there.”

Sandra Jenkins of Springfield, Ohio, made an important decision while touring the Walmart Home Office on Wednesday.

“I can honestly say I enjoy working for Walmart and I think I’m going to spend a lifetime there,” Jenkins said.

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Misty McFerrin, of Gillette, Wyo., has her photograph taken Wednesday on the toy truck ride in front of the Walmart Visitors Center in Bentonville. McFerrin works at Walmart No. 1485 and was spending the day seeing the corporate sights with the help of tour guide Ken Ehret, left.

Jenkins said she enjoyed coming to Bentonville to learn about Walmart’s history at the visitor center and seeing the home office because the experience made her feel good about the company she works for.

Ken Ehret of Bentonville also had an interesting day, but for different reasons.

Ehret, manager of communications for Walmart’s compliance division, played tour guide to each bus load of associates on the downtown square.

Ehret answered questions, posed for photographs with associates and offered to take pictures while they walked through the visitor center.

“This is a great way for us to show them what service is all about,” Ehret said. “It is a real honor to get to show them the heart of our organization — what service is all about.”

Shareholders week reinforced Joseph Mackowski’s belief in what makes Walmart special.

“I love the diversity of this company,” Mackowski said, noting the blending of different backgrounds and cultures makes the store he works with in Las Vegas and the entire company a good place to work.

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