Earlier today, Mark Hubbard, store manager of the Eastman Road Food City in Kingsport, TN was named Store Manager of the Year by Food Marketing Institute (FMI).   

“Food City is dedicated to providing our customers with exceptional customer service and exceeding their expectations,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.  “Mark is extremely passionate about serving our customers and his community.  He is a tremendous asset to our company and the region as a whole and we couldn’t be prouder of this much deserved honor.”  

FMI is the largest trade association of its kind, representing the interest of its membership and offering a broad range of services to independent grocers and wholesalers.  Their annual awards program recognizes supermarket store managers from throughout the United States and abroad for their “exceptional service to customers, employees and the community using innovative initiatives that contribute to company success.”  The top 10 finalists were recognized earlier today at the industry’s FMI Connect leadership conference in Chicago.  From those finalists, Hubbard was named the overall grand-prize winner for his category (supermarket chains with 50-199 stores).

Born and raised in Duffield, VA, Hubbard joined the Food City team in 2004 as Store Manager of their Whitesburg, KY location.  Since that time, he has managed two other locations for the company (Blountville, TN and Big Stone Gap, VA).  In October 2010, he was promoted to his current position as Store Manager for the Eastman Road Food City in Kingsport, TN – one of the company’s flag ship locations.  His drive, motivation and tremendous leadership skills make Hubbard a natural for the position. 

Hubbard currently chairs his district’s Leadership Committee, a panel hand selected to help guide, instruct and mentor the entire district team to greater success. But he is perhaps best known for the high standards he instills with regard to team work and service.  His ability to rally the troops has gained him respect and admiration throughout the company.  Recently Hubbard’s associates surprised him by purchasing their own t-shirts for use at special events.  Emblazoned across the back are the words “TEAM HUBBARD”. 

Hubbard has received numerous awards for his outstanding achievements, including Food City’s top honor – the Jack C. Smith Award, aptly named for the company’s beloved founder.  He won the prestigious award two years in a row - 2010 and 2011 and finished in the top five in 2012 and 2013.  He was also among the inaugural class invited to attend FMI’s Future Connect Conference in Dallas, TX. 

Hubbard is dedicated to his team and his community, investing a great deal of his time and talents serving others.  He has served on the boards of Indian Path Foundation, Junior Achievement of Kingsport, TN, Goodwill of the Tri-Cities, 211 Contact Concerns Hotline and Food City’s KARE Committee.  He is also closely involved with the annual Santa Train Project, having recently served as Chairman.  Hubbard and his associates work throughout the year to solicit donations of food, clothing and toys for the project.  They are also responsible for the storage and organization of the majority of the items, including readying the items for loading and assisting with distribution along the 110 mile route.  Hubbard is also very involved with Kingsport’s annual Fun Fest event, assisting with the kick-off parade, Crazy 8’s Road Race, neighborhood block party and Taste of Tri-Cities event.

Mark Hubbard and his lovely wife of 25 years, Vickie have two sons and three adopted children and are in the process of adopting their fourth child.  Over the past thirteen years, they have also opened their home and hearts to over 100 foster children through their local foster care program.  They currently reside in Duffield, VA.

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. (Food City’s parent company) operates 105 retail supermarkets throughout the tri-state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.