Acton Thrift Store claims Employee of the Year from local Chamber of Commerce

Her enthusiasm and service with a smile at The Salvation Army Thrift Store earned Acton’s Nancy LaRose the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Employee of the Year award.

This prestigious award is presented to a highly valued individual who has made a significant impact, contributing to the excellence of their company or organization through exceptional customer service.

What makes working at the Acton Salvation Army Thrift Store enjoyable for Nancy is the unpredictability and the unknown.

“We get all walks of life in here and it makes life really interesting,” she said. “It’s different every day and you don’t know what to expect. I was in customer service (at the olde Hide House for 15 years) but it was a routine and there were certain things I had to do. Here, routine goes out the window within five minutes of opening the door. It’s like Christmas every day because you open a box of donations and you might get some beautiful items that we end up giving to our silent auction.”

LaRose was hired to run the Thrift Store when it moved to the 114 Mill St. East location in 2009 and is the lone full-timer out of six employees there.
She brought to the store a whole new dimension of customer service, design and promotions. LaRose not only manages the numerous volunteers, the donations, stocking shelves, window dressing and so much more.

Nancy has promoted a monthly silent auction, encouraged the store to be part of the Acton BIA through events such as the Holiday Magic on Mill & Main, Acton Winter Carnival and just recently the Swag Bags for the new Acton GO Station commuters.

Often, customers will come in to the store looking for a certain item and if it isn’t there, LaRose takes down their phone number and contacts them when she finds it.

“People come in and say, ‘I have an odd request.’ And I say no, no, no. I’ve heard it all before. I’m no longer surprised. The funny thing is if we don’t have something today, tomorrow it will come in.”

(Editorial content provided in part by The Independent Free Press).