Dorothy Lane Market bagger excels in national competition
A Dorothy Lane Market employee earned a second-place finish among 22 contenders in the National Grocers Association’s Best Bagger National Championship on Monday night in San Diego, Calif.
Katie West, an associate at DLM’s Oakwood store, had already earned the top spot in a statewide competition, and she competed Monday against 21 other state winners in the national championship round held in conjunction with the industry organization’s annual conference.
West’s speed and agility in the competition’s initial heat clinched her move into the final round, said a DLM release.
“You were moving like you were a human Avenger ... like you were Captain Marvel,” Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, emcee for the event, told the DLM employee, the release said.
“Katie not only won the hearts of everyone here in San Diego but also represented DLM with enthusiasm,” Jerry Post, DLM Oakwood’s store director, said in a release. “She made us proud.”
West placed first in the Ohio Grocers Association’s Best Bagger Competition in August.
West, a Kettering Fairmont High School graduate and Wright State University student, started working for Dorothy Lane Market in 2016.
The first National Grocers Association contest was held in 1987 in Dallas, featuring two contestants and former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw as the emcee. Since then, it has grown into an annual event that includes as many as 25 statewide bagging contest winners.
Contact this reporter at 937-225-7355 or email Mark.Fisher@cmg.com.