Our guest is Brian West the Media and Community Relations Manager for Publix Super Markets. As Brian says, "We look at what a person is able to do, not what they aren't able to do."
Publix has been hailed as the No. 1 supermarket for customer satisfaction, one of FORTUNE's "100 Best Companies to Work For," and as an inspiration for its sustainability efforts and community involvement Publix has supported Special Olympics since 1972 when it's founder George Jenkins realized that Florida Special Olympians could not afford to go the National Competition in Los Angeles.
Mr. George paid for all of the Florida Olympians to fly to Los Angeles. Today, Publix Super Markets has over 800 employees who are Special Olympics Athletes in Florida. Each year in January, Publix associates and customers come together to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics. in 2020, Publix customers and associates contributed more than $4.5 million to the Special Olympics to ensure athletes were able to train and compete free of cost. This brings Publix total donation since 1993 to $56 million.