Guest speaker for Dec. 5, 2011, was Chris Bonvie, Manager of Wal-Mart Sussex. Chris has been with Wal-Mart for 12 years, he has worked for eight different Wal-Mart stores in New Brunswick and one in Charlottetown PEI. He has been a facilitator for the training program that Wal-Mart offers in Halifax called Store of Learning for the past eight years. He was surprised by the similarities between the Rotary's Four-Way Test and Wal-Mart's philosophy, “Is it True, Is it Kind and Is it Necessary?”
Chris lives in Fredericton and travels back and forth. He has been with Wal-Mart Sussex for just under a month, but he has already assigned a key employee as the Charity and Social Director. They have a weekly charity which they allow the use of the store entrance for a charitable table or booth. Wal-Mart also has initiatives on a national level, and they are the Children’s Miracle Network and the IWK. All proceeds go directly to the cause; they don’t have any administration fees or retainers.
Chris has four children (11, 10, 9 and 20 months old). Five years ago, he was fortunate enough to go to Florida with the CMN and the CEO of Wal-Mart. They took children from every hospital in the U.S. and Canada to Walt Disney World. They also have a program called Adopt a School and the Shining Star program. A student will be nominated, and a draw is done once a month for the shining star and once a year as the shining star of the year.
Wal-Mart is currently doing a food bank drive, and Santa will be here at Sussex Wal-Mart on the 17th, and every picture taken with Santa will generate a donation. Wal-Mart Sussex had raised $5000 for Red Cross, $4000 for IWK and $1500 for Little Wishes, which is a charity similar to the Wish Foundation but on a smaller scale. The recipients are local and in more significant numbers because the program is for shorter trips like Crystal Palace of a one-day fishing trip. This is for children who are going through cancer treatments or survivors of cancer in Atlantic Canada only.
Chris’ niece was diagnosed with leukemia, and when he spoke to the CEO of Wal-Mart and told him about her in conversation about their local endeavours, the CEO then and there told him he was coming to Florida with them.
Wal-Mart had a great Christmas parade float this year thanks to Alantra, but they did run out of candy canes halfway through the parade!