Hy-Vee's Lee Anderson, who was selected this year for the United Fresh Produce Association's Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, has a long list of reasons why he enjoys working in produce.
“The camaraderie of the group of guys that I got to be with, that was a lot of fun," Anderson said. "I love to work hard, and it’s hard work, but then you also have the creative side of things, and it’s fun to be creative in the aisle.
"Hy-Vee gives a lot of autonomy, so a lot of the stuff that we are allowed to do is just you have a great idea or you find a great idea, you try something, it doesn’t work, you try something new," Anderson said. "It’s never frowned upon to try something that might not work because then it might be something that really does work. That’s been fun.”
He described getting to change the department to reflect the season as another key perk of being in produce.
The day he learned of his selection to United's 2021 class of outstanding produce managers was a fun one, he said.
"It was super fun to come home and tell my wife, tell my family, tell her family – at the time we were living with her parents, building our house — so that was a fun dinner to have," Anderson said. "It’s been fun, and ever since it’s just been a great time, getting recognition from a lot of different people throughout the company. It’s been a good thing. It’s been a really, really cool thing.”