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The next week there was a little getting to know you meeting
in the employee lounge. There were good sandwiches and
cookies, bottled water, pop and chips. No reason. Just
enjoy.
Shelly Denomme can be seen
dancing at the morning rally if the store has met its goals
for sales or credit. She is known for greeting customers and
asking about their shopping experience in the store. She
never says, “I’m the manager” when asking for feedback. If
the store does not have an item in stock or if she sees that
a customer has not received 100 percent outstanding customer
service she might give her a $25 Macys Money Certificate to
spend on an item of her choice in the store.
Shelly is always looking
for ways to make Magic; to make the job a fun place to
work and to show her employees how much she appreciates
them. Once during the annual district award s luncheon,
Shelly bopped into the exquisite ballroom with a fire
extinguisher in her hand swaying backwards and forward and
rocking to the beat of the Ohio Players classic song
“Fire,” pointing to Toledo’s Magic Six recipients . She had
everyone (dressed in their dignified best) clapping and
dancing as she pointed to her crew swinging and singing
“Burning, burning, Burning, burning.”
Last year I told Shelly,
“February is Black History Month,” as if she did not know,
and asked, “So, what are you going to do to help us
celebrate?” She said, “I don’t know what you want to do?”
I ran some ideas past her
and was waiting to get shot down; instead she said “go with
it!”
That February we had
African-American singers, dancers, bands, poets, for every
weekend of the month. She supplied doughnuts and cookies and
coffee for our guest. The month was closed out with C. J
Manning and Marcia Bowen-Jones. Marcia sung a medley of
songs (“something for everyone,” she said) and ended with
Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” which left some
of the crowd cheering and some crying but all raving about
her fantastic voice.
Shelly believes in
supporting the central city. Every year Macy’s donates brand
new coats to Reverend Cedric Brock of Mt Nebo Baptist
Church, for his New Year’s Eve coat give away. She likes
Cedric and is confident that he will see that the coats go
directly to the needs. She also provided parting gifts for
Greater Saint Mary’s prayer retreat attendees; their theme
was about empowering women.
Since Shelly has come to
Macys of Toledo the store has seen black, white, Hispanics,
Indians and Muslims dancing in the aisle together to the
lead of people like Ophelia Thompson or jamming to the
sounds of the Wall Music Band or J.J. Express.
The list of central city
entertainers and Icons who have performed at Macys goes on
and on; Arthur Bishop, Tone Tone, Abundant Life Choir,
Johnnie Love and the Love Family Singers, Daniel Rice,
Katrina Barnhill, just to mention a few.
Shelly proudly displays a
picture of her with the Johnny Love and family in her
office. She says she got chills when Johnny sung the song “I
Know I’ve Been Changed.”
Shoppers, young and old
took lessons from the Scott-ettes, trying to learn their
urban dance moves. Errick Dixon of “Mystery Music”
mesmerized the crowd with a step show consisting of
inter-city grade school and high school students.
She confesses that Marcia Bowen-Jones is her all-time
favorite. Whenever there is a big event in the store Shelly
says “Call Marcia.” She says she is Marcia’s agent.
Shelly wants to touch the
central city for Macy’s and she shows it every chance she
gets. If it is for education, helping women and children,
she’s for it!
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