WWII veteran and Lowe’s associate honored at national meeting with company’s first veteran vest
His name is Delmar Wallace, but most call him ‘Wally’.
Wally works in the hardware department at the Lowe’s of McKinney, Texas and he’s the kind of associate some customers drive right past other stores just to visit.
Wally is 92 years young and a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. At the age of 17, he postponed going to college to serve his country. He proudly displays his support for service men and women on his hat and Lowe’s red vest every day.
Just over 10 years ago, he woke up at age 81 and realized he needed a job. With many years of experience as a homebuilder, as well as helping people in the insurance business, he thought, what better fit, than Lowe’s. The store in McKinney, just north of Dallas, was more than happy to accommodate Wally and his passion for helping people with their home improvement needs.
Anthony McElroy, the store manager, gets frequent compliments about Wally and enjoys the smiles he sees on the faces of the young customers who often ask for a photo.
“The passion he has for serving his customers is extremely evident in how he serves his customers here and how he takes care of his team,” said McElroy.
That passion and service is why Lowe’s decided to fly Wally to Las Vegas for the company’s annual sales meeting. With more than 3,000 store managers and associates in attendance, Wally’s story certainly inspired and then surprised them when he appeared on stage to receive the first veteran vest from Joe McFarland, Lowe’s executive vice president of stores.
After receiving the vest, which is modeled after the camouflage uniform the U.S. military wears, Wally was all smiles – and jokes!
“I hope my store manager will still be able to see me!”, he said.
Roughly 14,000 military, veterans and military spouses who work throughout the company. Lowe’s is proud to salute all veterans, both customers and associates, just like Wally. And according to Wally, it works both ways.
“Lowe’s has been great for me and I hope I have been good for them,” he said.
On behalf of all of Lowe’s – yes, Wally, you have.
Lowe’s continues to honor and support the military and veterans every day through its military discount program.