Goodwill NCW Board Member Dave Ogilvie
(left) and President & CEO Bob Pedersen (center) listen as Chief
Operating Officer of Retail & Logistics Scott Copeland addresses the
re-dedication attendees.
The store that launched the modern era of
Goodwill shopping in the Fox Valley is once again state-of-the-art! The
major renovation of the Goodwill Retail Store and Training Center in
Grand Chute is complete, and was officially celebrated on Thursday,
April 14. The store is located at 4759 Michaels
Drive, just south of Wal-Mart across from the Fox River Mall.
Members of the store team, other Goodwill team members, and past and
present Goodwill Board members gathered for a brief ceremony at 8:30
a.m. to mark the occasion. Bob Pedersen, President & CEO of Goodwill
Industries of North Central Wisconsin thanked the 1996 Goodwill NCW
Board for its "leap of faith" in creating the facility, and talked
about the important role the store has played in Goodwill NCW's history:
-when it was completed in 1996, it was the first totally new Goodwill
store to be built in this region; others had been renovated or
retrofitted from previous structures.
-it was the first Goodwill store to be strategically positioned in a major retail area.
-it's physical design and service delivery approach created a new Goodwill brand that has been applied, in the meantime, to the 16 other Goodwill NCW stores/training centers.
At 9 a.m., the doors officially opened, and
the first 150 customers to enter the store received a
$10 gift certificate good on any purchase at Goodwill of Grand Chute.
Goodwill customers found larger inventory and expanded selection of
clothing, books, housewares, health/beauty and cleaning supplies;
all-new flooring, ceiling and lighting; additional fitting rooms; and
expanded facilities for program participant training.
Scott Copeland, COO of Retail and Logistics, summed it up concisely: "In short, we're not your grandmother's Goodwill! If you haven't been to the Grand Chute store lately, you'll be amazed!"
Anna and Erno Szilagyii "check-out" the
changes at Goodwill's Grand Chute location.