Meet the 2023 Integrity in Action Award Winners!
Integrity — being honest and showing solid moral principles — is a core value at Walmart and Sam’s Club. As our Global Ethics VP, Jelahn Stewart, says, “Walmart has a culture of integrity.”
Doing the right thing is just baked into every action we take. But sometimes an associate’s actions deserve special recognition. Enter our annual Integrity in Action Awards!
“Our Integrity in Action Award rewards associates across the globe who are doing the right thing,” Jelahn says.
Nearly 4,000 associates were nominated for this year’s Integrity in Action Award. Patrick Brutus, a director in Global Ethics, says, “reading all of these great nominations is inspiring! A lot of associates are standing up and doing amazing things that aren't easy. The company supports you in doing the right thing — and we’ll celebrate you, too!”
Meet Renee: a scam-stopping superstar
Renee Henderson is the sales and training manager at Sam’s Club 4770 in Evans, Colorado. At the Integrity in Action Award ceremony, she was celebrated for her quick thinking in preventing fraud.
Renee (pictured above with Kath McLay, CEO of Sam’s Club) was at the member desk one morning when a grandfather came into the club to purchase $3,000 in gift cards. He said they were for his grandchildren — who needed them, fast! That tripped alarm bells for Renee, who thought the member might be the victim of a scam.
She alerted her co-manager, Tim Hope. They asked the member if he had spoken with his children to confirm if the grandchildren were truly in trouble and needed money. The member called his kids, and sure enough: Renee’s Spidey Sense was right. It was a scam!
“It feels good knowing I saved him that much money,” Renee says. “Once scammers get the numbers off the gift cards, there's no way to get that member’s money back.”
When Renee trains cashiers, she warns them to watch for gift card scams. “I tell them that when a member wants to buy a stack of gift cards, always let a manager know so we can have a conversation with the member,” Renee says. Because it’s the right thing to do.
“Renee is a perfect example of living and understanding the company’s policies and putting them into action,” Patrick says. “As I like to say, let ethics be your gut check.”
Congratulations to Renee and her fellow Integrity in Action Award winners from around the world!
- Oswaldo Rivera, Store Manager (Walmex, Supercenter Veracruz 2463)
- Darlene Carey, Accounting Office Associate/OMNI Associate (Store # 3003)
- Melania Ramírez Orozco, Office Clerk II Warehouse (Más x Menos Cartago - 3030.CR)
- Camilo Araya Maldonado, Back Office Associate (Lider Copiapó, Chile)
- Tianpeng Li, Deputy General Manager (Hypermarket Store #1036)
- Dheeraj Rathore, Lead Quality Manager (Flipkart)
- Sophia Luo, Sourcing Manager (Shenzhen Office, China)
- Jami Warrick, Warehouse Associate (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Brad Lukens, Store Manager (Baltimore, Maryland)
