Meet Bonnie, Front End Team Leader & Special Project Implementation

In celebration of Pride Month, we're thrilled to introduce Bonnie, Front End Team Leader and member of the special projects implementation team. Bonnie is a passionate member of GE Proud, Giant Eagle's LGBTQ+ business resounce group and has become a trusted ally and friend to the community.

Get to know more about Bonnie here.

What is your job title? And what do you love most about your job?

I’m the Front End Team Leader at the Stow Giant Eagle. I’m also a trainer on the special projects team assisting with a new technology roll out to our supermarket Team Members.

The thing I enjoy most about being a trainer is helping people learn how to use new tools that are available to them. I also enjoy getting to meet people from all over the Company. When I’m in my Front End Team Leader role the thing I enjoy most is helping our Guests and Team Members to have the best experience possible.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is my children. They have truly been a gift in my life. I have learned so much from them. I’m most proud of knowing that not only my own kids, but also their friends all know that they can come to me about anything. The fact that they trust me to help them is amazing. I was blessed to be able to help my youngest son start an afterschool program for LGBTQIA+ kids. The program provides a safe place to talk about issues with other kids and adults who understand what is going on with them. I feel so blessed and proud to be a part of that.

What does Pride Month mean to you?

To me, Pride Month is a time to help celebrate love, and try to educate people who are open to learn. It’s a time to celebrate how far we have come and acting on what we can improve.
I go to Pride Parades with my kids and work with the local library to help put together recommended books for Pride Month to be sponsored in their posters.

Do you actively participate in GE PROUD? If yes, can you speak to your experiences and how the BRG works to improve our workplace?

Yes. I have seen people use the BRG to network and make friends/allies throughout the Company. I have also seen how we use it to promote service to the community and ask questions or share suggestions that will help promote the LGBTQIA+ community in the stores and across the company.

Name a role model, historical figure, or key figure in the LGBTQ+ community that has been meaningful to you. And why?

I’d have to say Marsha P. Johnson, and the reason that I think she is so important is because she always stood up for what was right. She was murdered simply for being her true self when it would have been easy to deny who she was. She never had an easy life but that didn’t stop her. She suffered from severe bouts of depression like most transgender people do, but she still lived her life to the fullest. She stood tall for not only herself but everyone else when it would have been safer/easier to hide in the shadows.
One of her most famous quotes that still rings true today is “History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.”

How did you feel/react when you learned Giant Eagle was named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for 2021 and again for 2022?

I was very proud to hear this and think it’s a great thing. I’m proud to be a part of the Giant Eagle team and even prouder of the work we’ve done and will continue to do to improve life for our Team Members and Guests.

What is your favorite quote?

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” E.E Cummings

What are some interesting hobbies or talents that most people may not know about you?

When my kids where little it was fishing and camping, but now it’s watching my husband work in the flower beds.

Check Out Opportunities to Join Our Front End Team

. . .

Celebrating Pride Month at Giant Eagle

June is Pride month – an opportunity to celebrate and honor the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ)+ community and events that have contributed to progress and acceptance. PRIDE is about self-expression, love and having the opportunity to stand up and be proud of who you are in a world that sometimes tries to prevent that from happening, as well as encouraging those who are not yet ready.

The GE Proud Business Resource Group (BRG) invites all Team Members and our neighbors to “Espresso Yourself” – encouraging you to be your whole self both in your home and work lives. Join us after a two-year hiatus in publicly, proudly, and authentically espresso-ing yourself side by side with your Giant Eagle community at this year's Pride Parades!

We strive every day to make Giant Eagle the most inclusive workplace possible for our LGBTQ+ Team Members. We are proud to be recognized as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign for a second year in a row. At the same time, we know this might not reflect the experience of every one of our LGBTQ+ Team Members all the time. We must remain focused on the work that still needs to be done so that everyone feels like they belong and has the opportunity to thrive.