TREENA MIELKE/Rimbey Review
A business that has worked hard to give Rimbey and the surrounding area the very best in customer service as well as top quality product selection has been singled out as an award winner.
Rimbey Value Drug Mart has been named the 2010 Drug Mart Store of the Year by Value Drug Mart Associates Ltd.
The store, selected among 34 Value Drug Mart stores, was presented with the award at a Value Drug Mart Associates Ltd.’s shareholders meeting April 29 in Edmonton.
Patrick Rurka, who owns the store with his wife Heather, said he is thrilled to win the award, but gives the lion’s share of the credit to his staff for bringing the store to an award winning level.
“I give the majority of the credit to my staff. They bring out the best in the store and they really do deserve a great deal of credit.”
Rurka said the award is a testament to the hard work of his staff.
“Being recognized like this has been one of our goals since Heather and I took over Rimbey Value Drug Mart and I couldn’t be happier for all of the staff in our store who made this happen.”
Rurka and his wife and their two children, eight-year-old Jared and 10-year-old Tyler moved to Rimbey on Jared’s first birthday, March 17, 2004.
The couple, who worked at the pharmacy at the University of Alberta prior to moving to Rimbey, was pleased to move to a small town and purchase the store.
“Having grown up in a small town, I found it comforting to know that we would soon get to know our neighbors. We knew more people in the first three weeks of coming here than we did in the 10 years we lived in Edmonton.
“Rimbey is a wonderful town and a great place to raise a family. It has a wonderful education system.”
Value Drug Mart Associates Ltd. is a member owned and member driven program, where the independent store owner owns their distribution centre, their advertising program, their accounting department, their store operations team and all of the other services necessary for their success.
The Store of the Year Award is based on criteria including friendly and knowledgeable staff, store appearance, customer service and product selection.