Store Manager Elevating Teams & Community

Jon Hardesty manages a Food Lion at 40955 Merchant Lane in Leonardtown, Md.

Food Lion announced the winner of its 2024 Ralph W. Ketner Store Manager Excellence Award. This year’s recipient is Jon Hardesty, who manages a location in Leonardtown, Md.

The award is given out every year to an exceptional store manager who enriches the lives of Food Lion customers, associates and communities. The accolade is named for Ralph Ketner, one of Food Lion’s Founders.

Hardesty, who joined the retailer in 2004 and worked up to his current role, was chosen from a pool of more than 1,000 store managers working across the banner’s 10-state footprint. He leads a team of 160 associates at the Leonardtown location.

“Store managers are the heartbeat of Food Lion,” said Food Lion President Meg Ham. “They are accountable for delivering executional excellence in operating great grocery stores. Jon has done just that and made a positive impact on the lives of associates and customers by creating an environment where everyone is welcomed and appreciated. By showing care for his community and helping his associates thrive, Jon’s leadership is felt inside and outside his store.

I deeply appreciate all five of these exceptional store leaders for bringing our brand, strategy and culture to life in our stores every day.”

Hardesty expressed his thankfulness for the award. “This honor truly reflects the incredible team I have the privilege of working with each day,” he said. “I am honored to receive this award and grateful to be part of an organization that values community, integrity and professional growth.”

The grocer’s nonprofit arm, Food Lion Feeds, is marking the recognition by donating 20,000 meals in Hardesty’s name to Leonardtown Church of the Nazarene Outreach Ministry in Leonardtown.

Food Lion recognized four other store managers who earned 2024 Divisional Store Manager Excellence Awards:

• Josh Carver, Roxboro, N.C.:
  Mid-Atlantic Division
• Alex Clever, Spartanburg, S.C.:
  Southern Division
• Toby Pentecost, Scottsville, Ky.:
  Central Division
• Christan Dendy, Elizabeth City, N.C.:
  Richmond/Norfolk Division

Salisbury, N.C.

-based Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores throughout 10 southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, with 82,000-plus associates. Its parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.