William Carder, 22, won Best Bagger honors at the annual Tennessee’s Best Bagger competition at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Thursday, June 4. The Powell, Tennessee resident beat out four other contestants from across Tennessee for the coveted Tennessee’s Best Bagger trophy. The event is part of the annual convention of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association.

As Tennessee’s Best Bagger, Carder is eligible to represent Tennessee at the national competition at the National Grocers Association (NGA) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, in February. In addition to earning statewide “bagging rights”, William walked away with a $1,750 TGCSA scholarship and a $250 NGA scholarship.

“I am proud to have won this contest and am excited about the chance to compete at Nationals”, said Carder, an employee of Food City #679 in Powell. A recent graduate of Crown College of the Bible, he said he would apply the scholarship money to continuing studies.

The contestants were rated on speed, bag-building technique, weight distribution between bags, style, attitude and appearance. “I am so proud of William and all of our contestants”, said Rob Ikard, TGCSA President. “These competitors represent the best things about the food retail industry: quality, efficiency and excellent customer service excellence”.

About the Tennessee Grocers’ & Convenience Store Association

The Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association is the only food trade association that represents all segments of Tennessee’s food market. Membership is comprised of retail grocery store and convenience store operations as well as food industry wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers. TGCSA has been serving the needs of its members since 1978.

About Food City®

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 162 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama.