Let’s Celebrate

Let’s Celebrate

July 2021   minute read

This year marks Weigel’s 90th anniversary and to celebrate, the company—and East Tennessee’s oldest local dairy since 1931—is running a “90 Years for Us, 90 Days for You” campaign from May 3 to August 1.

“It is such an honor to have our vendors support this special milestone in Weigel’s history,” said Bill Weigel, chairman and CEO. “It’s a tribute to the qualities and legacy this company was founded on 90 years ago and to the great management and team members we have in our stores today. They have helped us grow, and we thank them for helping us celebrate our 90th anniversary in a huge way.”

To commemorate the anniversary, Weigel’s created a special birthday cake milk. “After seeing the excitement and success behind our Peanut Butter Chocolate milk, we knew we had a unique opportunity to continue into our anniversary celebration,” said Weigel.

Weigel’s 90-year history is something to celebrate, but so is its future. Increased loyalty focus, expansion into new markets, driving private brands to the marketplace and creating sweepstakes on a quarterly basis is its marketing department’s focus for 2021 and beyond.

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the Weigel’s family. We are hoping to use the ‘90 Years for Us, 90 Days for You’ celebration to help springboard us into the future. It is an achievement not many companies reach. We see this as a great opportunity to start moving on our biggest goals and strategies of the future,” said Nick Triantafellou, director of marketing.

Meanwhile, Savannah-based Colonial Group Inc. is marking a major milestone in its history. On July 21, 2021, Colonial will celebrate 100 years in business.

“When my grandfather, Raymond McAllister Demere, returned to Savannah after serving with distinction in World War I, he recognized the need to supply fuel for the new internal combustion engines powering vehicles replacing the horse and buggy,” said Robert H. Demere Jr., chairman of Colonial Group. “He established the company that would become Colonial Group in 1921 and built his first service station in 1923 at the corner of Drayton and Charlton.”

Demere Jr. represents the company’s third generation of family leadership, and during his tenure as president and CEO, he was responsible for much of the growth that led to the development of the company’s 10 current divisions. Today, his two sons, Christian and Houstoun, are continuing the legacy as fourth generation leaders.

“There were three generations and 100 years of leadership before me,” said Christian Demere, president and CEO. “Over the years, there has been a lot of effort and sacrifice by many people to get the company where it is today. It’s a collective effort across the entire team of employees at Colonial, and I take great comfort and pride in knowing how many incredible people we have that support the company.”

Colonial Group is one of America’s largest privately held companies. Colonial operates in numerous states, employs more than 2,000 people, spans diverse business sectors and continues to grow in the markets it serves.

 

IN THE COMMUNITY

Rutter’s Children’s Charities raised more than $450,000 at its 19th annual charity golf outing, held May 3-4. This year’s event included the participation of more than 140 vendors, suppliers and partners. Funds raised from the charity outing will help support Rutter’s Children’s Charities’ various giving programs and initiatives throughout 2021.

“After the year of the unknown, we’re very thankful to our suppliers and partners for their incredible support of Rutter’s and Rutter’s Children’s Charities in 2021,” said Chris Hartman, president of Rutter’s Children’s Charities. “All of their charitable contributions will benefit local children and charitable organizations throughout Rutter’s communities.”

<img

GetGo Café + Market chose Pittsburgh-area artist Ashanté Josey as the winner of its Spiked Slushies Cup Design Artwork Contest. Her winning artwork is featured on Spiked Slushies cups this summer at 46 GetGo locations across Pennsylvania and Ohio selling the quick-frozen malt beverages made with premium alcohol brands. GetGo also presented the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council with a $5,000 donation to support programming.

“The GetGo team appreciates the beauty art brings to our communities we live and work in, and we’re proud to be able to bring some of that to our guests this summer through Ashante’s art,” said Jon Cox, GetGo vice president and chief merchant.

<img
<img

Alto-Shaam donated cooking and holding equipment to Thorntons’ non-profit community store in partnership with the Louisville Urban League. This first-of-a-kind store is operating as a sustainable not-for-profit venture with all profits from sales being reinvested by the Louisville Urban League to promote community equity and empowerment.

“We are proud to support Thorntons’ in bringing fresh food and convenience to residents of West End Louisville as a partner in promoting community equity and empowerment,” said Leslie Hoffman-Banados, Alto-Shaam vice president of national accounts.

Alta Convenience raised $40,000 for Wings for Life through its in-store donation campaign. In March and April, customers purchased paper “red wings” that were posted throughout stores. Wings for Life supports spinal cord research for people suffering from traumatic spinal injury.