When two store managers at a grocery store in Louisiana
heard that eight of their employees
were high school seniors whose graduation had been canceled,
they held a graduation ceremony in the store stock room
and handed out diplomas to each student.
I love this story so much.
From Slidell, Louisiana, please welcome
store managers Genel and Jimmy, and their eight
recent graduates.
[APPLAUSE]
Hi, everybody.
Hi.
Hey, y'all.
I'm Genel.
I can't believe you're here.
I mean, you know, in screen.
You're our hometown hero.
We're so excited.
We never thought in this lifetime
we'd ever get to talk to you.
And we're so proud of you, your positivity, your message.
You brighten our day every day.
I'm telling you, I watch you in the evening
and I watch you before I go to work.
We all watch you.
You make us-- you just make this world a better place.
And we can't thank you enough.
Well--
She's right, you know?
Thank you so much.
Genel, so far you're my favorite person there.
[LAUGHTER]
So this is exciting, that I get to say hello to you
and thank all of you for being frontline, or just working
every single day keeping us fed and taken care of.
Thank you so much for everything you're doing.
And you work at Winn-Dixie, which is--
and it's near my hometown.
I know Slidell very well.
And so I'm really happy that I'm getting
to say thank you to all of you.
And so I have the graduates.
I can figure out who's who.
I know Jimmy, you're the one that's not Genel.
And the other ones are the graduates.
I've deducted that.
Good work.
Yeah, yeah, that's what I did.
Yeah.
Because they have robes on, Andy.
Smart.
Yeah, Andy can't see.
He's outside.
So when did you find out that graduation was canceled?
Well-- hi, Ellen.
I'm Ronnie.
For us--
Hi, Ronnie.
--it was all at once.
It was the five hours before prom--
everybody was ready, we had our dresses and suits on.
Everybody was ready to spend one of the last nights
with our high school friends that we were going to get.
And then it was five hours before we
got the call that not only were we not getting prom,
but we weren't getting graduation
or the rest of our senior year like we all
thought we were going to get after four years.
Wow.
Yeah, what a-- it's just--
I mean, it's hard for everyone, obviously.
But when you're graduating--
and then your whole final senior year was cut short.
That must really hurt.
Hey, Ellen.
I'm Owen.
Great to meet you.
And yeah, it was very hard in the moment.
It was definitely a shock.
And we're all in this together, where it's all very shocking.
But as it got farther on, we all know why it happened.
We see that there's a bigger picture.
So we're all going through this hard situation.
And we see that going through this hard moment
is going to make us stronger in the end.
That, yeah, it's hard times.
But we keep moving forward, staying positive.
I absolutely agree.
And I think it's times like this, it shapes you in a way
that you probably would-- you're going
to turn out to be a different kind of person because of this,
and I think for the better.
Because you're learning so much more with this life
experience than you would have just finishing
your senior year.
So we have to look for the silver lining.
And that is it, that we're all connecting in different ways.
And we're appreciating, you know,
people that we took for granted before.
And I think that's really what we all have to look at.
And Genel, you came up with the idea
to have the graduation in the store.
How did you come up with that and why?
Well, these kids are always upbeat.
So I went to Jimmy-- we call him Mr. 212--
and mentioned, hey, can we put this thing together?
And he said, go for it.
So we invited the parents.
And we kept the distance, as we should.
And they were just thrilled.
And it was something that, at the end too, they got a--
and you can appreciate this--
a toilet paper cake, individual cakes because, you know,
[INAUDIBLE].
And we have a little diploma in there with their names on it.
So it's something they can remember forever.
That's so fantastic.
And Jimmy, you gave the commencement speech
and handed out diplomas.
How was that for you to give the commencement speech?
It was pretty easy.
Our purpose at Winn-Dixie is that you can count on us,
so they can count on me.
I'm not a great public speaker, a little nervous about it.
But I got the message across to them
that they could dream big, set goals,
it's OK to fail at that goal.
Just get back up and you will eventually succeed in life
and do what you want to do.
That's a good commencement speech.
So Genel, Jimmy, you're clearly amazing.
And I'm officially naming you my employees of the month.
[CHEERS]
And do you know what that means?
Whenever you're the employee of the month,
you're Ellen's employees of the month,
you're both getting tickets to come
to see one of my 12 Days of Giveaway Shows
when this is all over.
[CHEERS]
Yes, yes, yes.
You have no idea.
All right.
I think she does.
Well, I can't wait to meet you in person.
I have something for the graduates when we come back.
I'm going to take a break.
We'll be back with something for the graduates.
We are back with some of the Winn-Dixie employees
in Slidell, Louisiana.
And they're on the frontlines every single day.
What has it been like for y'all?
Is it-- is it scary?
I mean, you're making sacrifices to be there to supply all of us
with the things we need, knowing that it's risky out there.
Hi, Ellen.
I'm Mason.
It's so nice to meet you.
Hi.
[INAUDIBLE] just makes us feel proud that we're
able to help the people because so many people are still
social distancing.
And a lot of them haven't been out of the house
in a week or two.
So just getting to be that one person they finally
get to interact with, and just making
sure you have a smile on your face, and making sure
they feel safe, and are able to get out
of the store with the best experience possible.
I mean, it still just means the world to us.
Well, it is interaction that a lot of people, who especially
are living alone, are having.
And it's important for everyone to have
that kind of socialization in any way we can have it.
Owen, you haven't seen your mom since this started, right?
Yes, oh, she has a condition that
gives her a weak immune system.
So You're being on the frontline, for her safety,
I haven't been able to go around her in the past three months
since it started.
When I talked to her, I have to talk to her through the door.
So I still get to communicate some.
But I can't go near her.
She sacrifices so I can be here on the front line to give back.
Well, I wanted to give you a graduation gift.
So I sent Jimmy a box.
And he has no idea what's inside.
But I'd like you to pass out, to the graduates, what's in there.
Don't open yet.
But just pass out to each of them.
And Ellen, these are an amazing group of kids--
just amazing.
They must be.
And they're going to be more amazing
because of this circumstance, I can guarantee you that.
I just want to say that we've been
partnering with this amazing company called Green Dot.
They offer banking and saving made simple,
which is important, really, now more than ever.
And you're all focused on your future.
So thanks to Green Dot, you can open those diplomas.
[CHEERS]
You're each getting $10,000.
[CHEERS]
Yes, yes.
Thank you so much.
[CHEERS]
You're welcome.
Thanks to Green Dot.
Hey, Ellen, they wanted to throw their caps, too.
So I hope you'll give them that opportunity.
They haven't done it yet.
Do it.
Throw it.
Throw them up in the air.
[CHEERS]
Congratulations, everybody.
[CHEERS]
Genel, Jimmy, I'll see you soon.
Bye.