What does it take to earn this top award? We asked Club Manager Shane Haynie.
It’s an honor for any Sam’s Club to be named Club of the Year. But the team at Club 6317 in Canton, Ohio, has even more reason to be proud: This is their second time being awarded the title! They also won in 2019.
Shane Haynie, club manager at Club 6317, says it was humbling to be selected. He explains that a lot of the hard work goes into earning award, at every level of the club.
“I think it starts at the beginning of the year, when you're able to set goals with the team and send the message that if we can really do a great job on these things, we're going to be successful,” he says.
Shane tries to break down goals by department, so everyone feels part of the cause. “Like if you go to the optical department and say, ‘If you can do this amount over this year, that's going to help the entire club.’”
Beyond their numbers, the club helps support a variety of local mainstays, like the community diaper bank and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is based in Canton. “So many of our associates do so many things within the community that it's hard to list them all, but from coaching to helping members that they've gotten to know over 35 or 30-plus years, they’re like family.”
Even the club members got on board, rooting for the club to succeed. “They feel like they're a part of it because this is their hometown,” Shane says.
An overwhelming honor
Shane admits he didn’t think the club would win again this year, so soon after its first win. The announcement was an emotional moment for him at Sam’s Year Beginning Meeting (YBM).
“When you're not expecting anything, and you hear them start talking about your team and the members … My heart started pounding. And then they showed the video, and that's when it was kind of overwhelming,” he shares.
“I could talk for a long time about the team here and about the members,” Shane says. “When the associates and the managers know our members’ children’s names and what they do in their lives, that creates such a big engagement factor in this club. That's where we really have a special place to work.”
Of the 194 associates at Club 6317, four have been with the club since it opened 35 years ago: Carrie Bobo, Kimberly Johnson (pictured above, left) and husband-and-wife pair, Kimberly and Marc Watterson.
Other associates with more than 30 years with Sam’s Club are Russ Dice, Mark Evanich, Stacey Hazzard, Debbie Pollard, Cindy Decker and Matt Evanich.
Building on a great foundation
Shane, who has been with Sam’s Club for 25 years, started out as a cart pusher. He met his wife of 18 years when they both worked at Sam’s. (She just retired at the end of last year.)
Shane has been the manager for Club 6317 for six years, but he’s only the second club manager in the location’s 35-year existence. He credits the previous long-term manager and long-time associates for setting the foundation for the club’s recent successes.
