We have a new champion!

February 22, 2008

If you've ever dreamed of being on David Letterman I know a short cut; just win the National Grocers Association's Annual Best Bagger Competition as did Erika Jensen from Macey's based in Utah. In fact if you tuned in this past Wednesday night you would have seen just why she was both this year's National and International winner.

I love the Best Bagger Competition. I have the privilege of "hosting" the event so I am able to look thru the standing room only crowd that has traveled thousands of miles to cheer on their regional winners. The roar of the crowd during the trials is deafening ... and fun. The event for me exemplifies what the food world needs to always do: celebrate!
Celebrate our foods, our people and our customers.

Tom Zaucha, the President & CEO of N.G.A., probably says it best; "excellence in bagging represents an important element in providing outstanding customer service ... in which the independent community focused retailers excel."

The U.S. Best Bagger Championship is a year-long, nationwide program in which the best-of-the-best grocery baggers in the country compete for great prizes and the title of America's Best Bagger. Contestants are judged on speed, bag-building technique, weight distribution between bags, and style, attitude and appearance. Each of the rounds included one heat with plastic bags, one with paper bags.

This year's winners:
Winner -- Erika Jensen, Macey's, Utah
First Runner Up -- Eli Ransdell, Nugget Markets, California
Second Runner Up -- Maria Werder, Martin's Super Markets, Indiana
Third Runner Up -- Anthony Underwood, Woods Supermarkets, Missouri
Fourth Runner Up -- Rebecca Courtright, Stroudsburg ShopRite, New Jersey
Erika Jensen was also the winner of the 2nd Annual International Best Bagger Championship.
She bagged off against the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (C.F.I.G.) bagger Gord Groves, Quality Foods, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia.
And by the way, if you missed Erika beating the pants off of Dave, just click here just click here.

Posted on Monday 2/25 by Susan
I sincerely hope that Erika's bagging skills depicted on the Letterman show were a joke! As someone who insists on bagging her own (I was a cashier/bagger for 7+ years), I am always disappointed/appalled by the lack of bagging skills in today's grocery stores.

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