The Border Beat

H-E-B Update

By Rocio R. L. – Director of Human Resources Border Region

Partners, In 2007 our Region experienced a year of Partner Development. In the Border Region we had a total of 168 Partners accepted into the School of Retail Management. Sixteen Partners were accepted into the School of Retail Leadership. This is a record for the Border Re-gion. The Leadership Series and The Bridge are two great programs that were initiated in 2007 and have produced outstanding results in further developing our Partners’ skills. Twenty two Partners have been selected to participate for the first Leadership Series in 2008. These Partners will be participating in workshops that cover topics such as Business Excellence, Passion for People, and Drive to Achieve. The Bridge has been expanded to include Partners that are currently in an ADM, CCM, or Sub Department Manager role. Be on the look out for the next posting! The Management Intern Program application period will begin on April 1st. The 10-week summer internship offers partners attending college the opportunity to combine work experience and profes-sional development with formal education. With our commitment of developing Great People, the MI Program prepares self-motivated, high-talent individuals for future careers in H-E-B. All Eligible Part-ners must submit the entire application before April 30th. In 2008 there are many opportunities for Partners to continue to develop their skills or further their careers. Some of these are

School of Retail Management School of Retail Leadership HEB Scholarship Leadership Series The Bridge

Tuition Reimbursement High School Summer Leadership Program College Internships Sed de Saber Keep your eyes open for your next opportunity...

Partner Spotlight

Quarter 1 March, 2008

Julio A. is the overnight partner

in charge who has been part of our H-E-B team for over 16 years. He started his career at LAREDO #3. Julio's management and organiza-tional skills as well as his excep-tional follow through have made him an asset to Partners, the store, and the company. Julio never says no when asked to complete a pro-ject or extra duties. He finds a way

to get it done without complaining. He does not build any boundaries when doing his job. Julio has a “Can do Atti-tude” that exemplifies H-E-B and its BOLD PROMISE. Thanks Julio for what you do at Laredo #3!!!

Through the end of March, free flu shots for ALL Partners at H-E-B Pharmacies.

Don’t hesitate! Protect your health and spread the word to your fellow Partners!

Marco V. has been recognized with a scratch off ticket for going above and beyond his duties in tak-ing care of the market department. With the market lead out sick, Marco, the shelf edge specialist and a former meat cutter at Del Rio#1 stepped in to help the market de-partment. During his Shift, Marco received a visit from the Health De-partment. The inspectors were very

pleased with the sanitation and presentation of the depart-ment. As a result the store received a 100% on the inspec-tion. Congratulations Marco for a great accomplishment!!!

By Russell C.–Store Director, Lalo R. –UnitedLaredo #3

By Janie G.–Store Director, Del Rio #1

By Monica P. Sr. HR Coordinator Border Region 2007 was a banner year for Healthy at HEB in the Border Region! Once again the Border Region rose to the challenge finishing #1 in the entire company. We achieved our goal by spreading the word about Healthy Living and its benefits. In doing so, 80% of our Partners completed their health assessments.

CONGRATUATIONS to the following Wellness Champions for achieving 100% participation on the Wellness Assessment Contest:

LINDA R. Del Rio #1-088 -YOLANDA R. Pearsall – 158 -JESSICA S. Weslaco #2-485

On October 11th, 2007, we celebrated Healthy at HEB Day. Partners had the opportunity to enjoy healthy snacks, receive infor-mation on HEB benefits, complete their Wellness Assessment, and Healthy Action credits. Partners who met these requirements were eligible for many exciting prizes

I am EXCITED to announce that Michael P. from Mission-3 Plus Store is the lucky winner of a trip for 5 people to Walt Disney World in Florida for 5 days and 4 nights! The following Partners from the Border Region won these exciting prizes: $500: Oscar V. (Del Rio-2) iPods: Esperanza M. (Pharr-208), Crystal T. (McAllen-2), Miguel F. (Laredo-8), Arnoldo A. (Brownsville-5) $25 gift cards: Juana G. (McAllen-1), John O. (Brownsville-2), Bernaida G. (Weslaco-2), Corina C.(Brownsville-3) On February 28, 2008, we hosted a Healthy at HEB celebration at Mission-3 Plus store. This was an exciting event where we announced our 2008 Healthy at HEB initiatives, recognized our Wellness Champions in the Valley and announced our Grand Prize Winner. We were joined by Laura Gump, Vice President of the Border Region, Kathy Durbin, Director of Benefits, Alice Childers, Vice President of Human Resources for SAFD and Central Market. The theme for HEB in 2008 is the year to LIVE BETTER. The Border Region is committed to the health of our Partners, families, and the community. Now is the time to take part in the Healthy at HEB programs and visit www.healthyatheb.com for more information. Remember that in order to receive credit for your 2009 Health Share deductible you need to do the following:

Step 1: Participate in TWO Healthy Action Programs between November 1, 2007 and October 31, 2008. Step 2: Complete the online Wellness Assessment between September 1 and October 31, 2008.

By completing these health challenges you will be entered into a drawing for great prizes.

Invest in yourself. You have one life to live, so make it worth living. Here is to a Invest in yourself. You have one life to live, so make it worth living. Here is to a Invest in yourself. You have one life to live, so make it worth living. Here is to a Invest in yourself. You have one life to live, so make it worth living. Here is to a new year new year new year new year –––– make it a great one! make it a great one! make it a great one! make it a great one!

By Jessica S.–Administive Assistant - Weslaco 2/Corp. #485

The story started when our Unit Director, Luis L. attended a meeting in mid September in which they spoke about the decline in French bread sales and what could be done to re-energize sales. He challenged all the UD's to sell 200 French breads in two days. Naturally, Luis ap-proached Jaime because of his energy and enthu-siasm towards exceeding expectations. Well, Jaime was unable to get to the 200 in two days, but met his goal on the 3rd day. When he met that goal, Luis thanked him for his enthusiasm and explained the reason for the recent push in French bread sales. This lit a fire in Jaime, he came back the next day and announced to Luis that he wanted to start a personal challenge for himself. He wanted Luis to call Tony G., Laura G. and anyone else he wanted to tell them that Jaime P. was going to sell 10,000 French breads in 12 weeks from Oct.1, 2007-Dec.31, 2007. Luis was surprised and a little taken back. He told Jaime not to take on more than he could handle, 10,000 loaves was a lot of bread. Jaime told him, "Sir, I can do it!" Seeing Jaime's passion behind his personal challenge, Luis told him he supported him 100% and would tell Tony and Laura about his challenge. Well on Dec.19, 2007 he met his goal with 10,050 loaves. His final count for the 12 week period came to 11,480 loaves of French bread! Wow, he sure made a statement there. I have worked with Jaime for the last 8 years and I know he is one of a kind. He will go above and beyond to stand out when it comes to sell-ing. He has dressed up as a leprechaun to sell tickets to Borderfest, dressed up as Elvis to sell cameras (sequins and all!), and dressed up as an elf at Christmas time. He has a passion for selling and it carries throughout the store. We are very lucky to have a partner like Jaime at Weslaco 2!

Washington's Birthday Washington's Birthday Washington's Birthday Washington's Birthday CelebrationCelebrationCelebrationCelebration

HHHH----EEEE----B B B B Partners were part of Washington’s Birthday

Celebration in Laredo (TX). This celebration is one the largest of its kind in the United States with approximately 400,000 attendees annu-ally. The purpose of the events is to foster a greater understanding be-tween the people of the Americas, to promote Laredo as one of Texas’ most patriotic and culturally alive cities and to facilitate a greater sense of civic and national pride within our community and region. Among the activities H-E-B participated in were: Washington’s Birthday Parade,

Taste of Laredo and the fireworks Extravaganza, proudly

sponsored by HHHH----EEEE----B. B. B. B. B.

LAREDO

With great success the SORL team promoted our recy-cling program at the event. It was a fun and educa-tional activity. H-E-BUDDY was in charge of showing the kids how to recycle. Before the game, free ice cream was served and different prizes were given away to our partners: T-Shirts and hockey sticks auto-graphed by the Laredo Bucks players, free pizzas, and gift cards from Spoonz. Partners from all over the city competed in different games set up by the Bucks or-ganization. Bucky (Bucks Mascot) and H-E-Buddy had a good time entertaining the crowd. Overall the night was a Blast for all Partners that attended. The Bucks topped the night off by beating their opponent 5 to 1. Way to go Bucks!

By Noelia R. Regional Director Deli and Rick M. SORL II Laredo The H-E-B family night was celebrated by our partners with two exciting hockey games on Feb 23rd in the Valley and Mar 7th in Laredo between the Killer Bees and The Laredo Bucks teams. This is an annual event where our partners come together from differ-ent stores and enjoy a fun day at the Dodge Arena and the Laredo Entertainment Center. Special thanks to Emily I., Zulema C. and all the admins that helped coordinate these great events. It was a great time for all!!! Among the activities included in the events were: VALLEY

The celebration started with a tailgate party from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. This was a huge success where food and drinks were provided for all HEB partners, their family and friends. There were games that included a pie eating contest, balloon popping contest for the kids, and a dance contest that was judged by the BEE and H-E-BUDDY. Javier Sanchez, deli manager from Pharr was the DJ for the event. A number of door prizes were given away throughout the tailgate party. Prizes included DVD players, grills, blenders, ice chests on wheels, MP3 player ice chest, $25 gift cards and much much more. We had a total number of 1,100 attendees and all you could see around the arena was HEB!!! There were 3 times as many participants this year than last year so this is definitely a new record!

By: Enrique M. –Store Operations Intern

Most of our Customer Service Assistants and Parking Lot Attendants fall under the Generation Y category, and to motivate our hard working partners we have allowed them to listen to their music during their scheduled basket round up shifts. Thanks to a pilot program called the I-pod Initiative, our CSA’s and PLA’s are allowed to have an MP3 player with one ear piece in use during their basket round up shifts. The feedback we have received from partners is phenomenal. They love to hear music that motivates them to work. Many of our partners have compared the I-pod Initiative to a workout session, but with pay! Moreover, the feedback from the management team has been nothing but positive, and many managers feel that the number of loose baskets has been re-

duced in the parking lot. The I-pod Initiative is a retention program that is currently being piloted in several stores across Texas, and it has been improving our partners’ motivation to work!

SORM Partners VALLEY (Graduation Feb. 2008)

Leadership Series 2007 BORDER REGION

We continue to grow our SORL program in the Border Region with the addition of 6 New SORLs. Please join me in congratulating the following new SORLs: Gina Ramirez Bakery Manager at Brownsville 2 Tommy Guerra Grocery Manager at Mission 3 Plus! Robert Amador Produce Manager at Brownsville 2 Jason Ahr Store Operations Intern Hondo Charles Ford Grocery Manager at Laredo 8 Plus! Rosalba Martinez Texas A&M graduate and returning H-E-B Partner As we gain new SORLs we also send Congratulations to the following Partners that recently graduated from the SORL Program. Paul Schwangler ASD at Brownsville 2 Reggie Stevenson ASD at McAllen 4 Julio Ramirez ASD at McAllen 1 If you are interested in the SORL program, please visit with your Store Leader to discuss what steps you need to take to prepare for the next SORL posting.

SORM Partners LAREDO/SW (Graduation Jan. 2008)

SORL PARNERS BORDER REGION

If you would like more information on the Border Region HR department, visit the H-E-B Intranet (go to “Departments”, “Border Region”, and “Border Region Field Human Resources”). If you need help getting on the Intranet, please see your store’s Administrative Assistant.

BORDER REGION LEADERSHIP TEAM

We want to hear from you! If you have a Partner story that you would like featured in the Border Re-gion News Letter, please send the following information: Name of Part-ner, Store Number, Contact Phone Number, and a description of the event, to Aida Cristina Ramirez “Criss” at UHRCR@HEB.COM . Our Regional Team will review all summaries and select the entries!

Leadership Team

Human Resources Laura U. Gump Border Region VP

Rocio Lozano

Human Resources Director

Tony Gonzalez Director of Retail Operations – Upper Valley Area

Cindy Shuman

Sr. Human Resources Advisor

Robert Palomin Director of Retail Operations- Lower Valley Area

Yvonne Elizondo

Human Resources Manager - Valley

Bob Tellez Director of Retail Operations – Laredo/SW Area

Sonya Volk Silva Human Resources Manager - Valley

Karla Alamilla Human Resources Manager – Laredo/SW

Alma Delia Rocha

Human Resources Associate – Laredo/SW

Marketing Directors Monica Pena Sr. Human Resources Coordinator, Valley

George Quiroz Director of Market/Seafood Aida Cristina Ra-mirez “Criss”

Human Resources Coordinator, Laredo/SW

Dora Ortiz Director of Bakery Richard Escalera Administrative Assistant II

Dennis Young Director of Drugstore, Photo and Cosmet-ics Recruiting

Noelia Romero Director of Deli

Dora Trejo Associate Recruiter

Mike Menchaca Director of Grocery Sarith Sanchez Recruiting Coordinator - Valley

Joel Garza/Patsy Cavazos

Director of Pharmacy

Norma Trevino Recruiting Coordinator -Laredo

Jennifer Sims Director of Customer Service Cristina Eufracio Administrative Assistant

Jose Carmona Director of Produce/Floral

Mohsen Husain Director of Shelf Edge

Rick Hernandez Director of Loss Prevention

Carlos Contreras Manager of Public Affairs

Jennifer Segars Manager-Services Co

Office Supports

Rosie Blanco Laura U. Gump and Tony Gonzalez

Zulema Castro Bob Tellez

Julie Perez Tony Gonzalez, Robert Palomin, Jennifer Sims, Mohsen Husain,

Emily Ibanez-Garza Dennis Young, Joel Garza, Mike Menchaca,

Liz Huerta George Quiroz, Dora Ortiz, Jose Carmona, Noelia Romero, Rick Hernandez

Virginia Perez Carlos Contreras