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Hy-Vee Shines Spotlight on Women in the Workplace
Celebrates International Women’s Day with videos, fun facts and quizzes on social media. The West Des Moines-based retailer celebrated International Women’s Day through videos, fun facts and quizzes posted to its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
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Photograph: Shutterstock
On International Women’s Day, Hy-Vee took to social media to make one poignant point: “We honor women today and every day.”
The West Des Moines-based retailer on March 8 celebrated women in the workplace through videos, fun facts and quizzes posted to its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
One of the quizzes had social media users guess how many women currently work for Hy-Vee out of its 88,000 employees. The correct answer, revealed near the end of the day, was 43,690, or about 50%.
Hy-Vee would like to pay a special tribute to the women who work for us. #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/9YFyKCIOaM
— Hy-Vee (@HyVee) March 8, 2021
The employee-owned retailer, which was founded in the 1930s by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg and now has more than 275 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, also shared how women contributed to its history over the years. Some of the facts Hy-Vee shared on International Women’s Day include:
“Florence Midgorden Ballard, the first woman hired at the Lamoni Hy-Vee Bakery in October 1942, operated its doughnut machine. Back then, women kept things running while many male employees were called to serve our country.”
“Kathleen Maple managed our Cainsville, Mo., store from April 1945 until her brother returned home from the service in 1946. She was the first woman to manage a store for Hy-Vee.”
“Retired Hy-Vee Vice President Jane Knaack-Esbeck was the first woman elected as a permanent member of the Hy-Vee Board of Directors and Executive Committee.”
“Rose Kleyweg Mitchell was an educator when she was hired by Hy-Vee in 1979. Rose developed Hy-Vee's training program & recruited young talent. She was the company's 1st female vice president before retiring in 2013 as senior vice president of governmental affairs.”
“Nadine Gamet from the Ames Hy-Vee on Lincoln Way won both the Iowa and the Midwest Checker of the Year titles in 1957. She ended up placing third at the national contest.”
Hy-Vee also shared, through quizzes, that Linda Pochobradsky of Cedar Rapids is its longest-employed woman, having served customers for 56 years; and that Daira Driftmier is the first and only director of its KidsFit program.
Hit the ❤️ for our Hy-Vee women leaders! We’re here to support women advancing in the workplace. We’re proud of this amazing team! pic.twitter.com/QYlnRW7rd2
— Hy-Vee (@HyVee) March 9, 2021
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