The Scotmid store in Laurencekirk were crowned Community Heroes at the Scottish Grocers Federation awards last week – capping off an incredible six months of big wins at the convenience retailer in Aberdeenshire.
In July, regular customer Fred Higgins bought a ‘Lucky Dip’ Lotto ticket from the kiosk and ended up landing a phenomenal £58m jackpot.
Then at the start of October, local good cause group Laurencekirk Memorial Park earned the most votes in Scotmid’s Community Connect initiative – providing the charity with funding of £15,000 to revitalise facilities.
Now the popular store, who stage regular fundraising events for charity, have earned nationwide recognition for the role they play at the heart of the Laurencekirk community – much to the delight of store manager, Stewart Smith.
Stewart, who has managed the Laurencekirk store for five years, said: “It truly has been an amazing year for our store with the Lotto win, our local group winning Community Connect and now our team winning the SGF award.
“Are we the luckiest store in Scotland? I honestly don’t know, but it is unbelievable that so many incredibly positive things have happened here over the past six months.
“It is brilliant to receive the award; that recognition is not just for the store, but for the entire local community – everybody has played their part and it has been a team effort.
“The award has reinvigorated our store and inspired us to continue to do that little bit extra for the local community through fundraising, engaging with the local schools and being right at the heart of it all.”
The Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF) is the national trade association for the convenience industry in Scotland and are currently celebrating their centenary year.
During their centenary, the SGF wanted to use this historic landmark to celebrate and reward the immense contribution convenience retailers make to communities across Scotland.
With support from Mars-Wrigley confectionery, SGF launched the Community Heroes awards to highlight innovative and impactful community engagement.
Scotmid’s North Region Membership and Community Officer, Lynne Ogg added: “This award means a great deal to us all at Scotmid; we’re working hard within communities all across Scotland.
“Stewart and his team in Laurencekirk truly embrace the core values and principles of Scotmid – serving their community and improving people’s everyday lives.”
The Community Heroes award judging panel pointed towards to the store’s ongoing relationship with local school, Mearns Academy and also the additional voluntary work carried out by store staff members as the factors which enabled Laurencekirk store to win the accolade.
The Scotmid Strathaven Square store was also highly commended in the Community Heroes category.
Image caption (left to right): Brian Condie (Mars-Wrigley), Lynne Ogg (Scotmid Membership and Community Officer), Stewart Smith (Scotmid Laurencekirk store manager), Dr John Lee (Scottish Grocers Federation Head of Policy and Public Affairs) and Linda Williams (Broadway Premier and Chair of judging panel)