Community honoring local man for his ‘immeasurable’ impact after 46-year career
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REXBURG – A Rexburg man is retiring after 46 and a half years with the same company and his family is honoring him with a final sendoff on his last day of work.
Kevin Stevens, 62, will complete his final day of work as the store director of the Rexburg Albertsons on Wednesday.
Stevens’ daughter, Aubree Yates, tells EastIdahoNews.com her father’s impact on the community is hard to measure because of how involved he’s been over the years.
“He’s sponsored a lot of events. He’s done a lot of things as a manager that not a lot of managers do for their customers. He has a really big heart and is always willing to help. He just loves his community,” Yates says.
Stevens has also served on the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce for many years and Yates says he’s enjoyed attending many ribbon-cuttings and grand openings for businesses and watching Rexburg grow over the years.
Stevens got his start as a bagger at the Nampa store in 1976. He worked there for 21 years, working his way up the ranks. He moved to Rexburg in February of 1997 where he started as store director.
Yates says serving people every day and meeting new faces is what her dad enjoys most.
Stevens’ wife, Stacey, says her husband started delivering groceries to elderly customers before that was part of the business model. She also recalls an instance last year when Stevens was particularly helpful to an elderly lady when there was a toilet paper shortage.
“She was about 80 years old and really needed toilet paper because her husband was really sick. He went to the bathroom and got the big roll of toilet paper and gave it to her,” says Stacey.
Frank Smith, the assistant manager at the Rexburg Albertsons, says Stevens’ positive interactions with customers are too numerous to mention and couldn’t think of a specific one off the top of his head. He says Stevens has always put the customer first and treated store associates well.
“He’s been a great leader and an example of how to hold yourself in the community and in the professional environment,” says Smith.
Yates says her dad’s positive attitude and huge heart are what stand out the most to her and she’s grateful to be his daughter.
“He could be so mad at you and you would never know because he has the biggest heart,” says Yates. “He has so much love for people he doesn’t even know.”
Yates says her dad is looking forward to doing lots of traveling in his retirement and spending lots of time with his kids and grandkids, who are scattered throughout eastern Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Texas.
The community is invited to gather outside the Rexburg store at 5 p.m. Wednesday, where Yates and her family will shoot off confetti as Stevens walks out of the store on his last day of work. Members of the Rexburg Chamber will also be there, along with officers from the Rexburg Police Department.
Albertsons is at 490 North 2nd East near the old Walmart building where Harbor Freight and CAL Ranch are now located.
