2021 Star Women in Grocery winner Dawn Haig (Q&A)

Dawn Haig

Store Manager

Save-On-Foods

 

How did you get into the grocery business?

My mother worked for Overwaitea Food Group (Save-On-Foods) for over 20 years, so it only seemed natural to follow in her footsteps and start my first job out of high school in a grocery store—and I’ve been working in grocery ever since.

What's your proudest career moment?

It would have to be the ability to lead the team in our Mission, B.C. location through a four-year journey that created a big financial turnaround, improved morale and finally had the store removed from quarterly review. I led the team through an extensive remodel, and brought the team together to improve the store’s offerings and operations in order to be competitive in the marketplace up against the opening of a new competitor in the community.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

Listen more and talk less. Also, always have respect for others and have integrity in whatever is being asked of you.

What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career?

Without a doubt, it’s been the past 14 months, grappling with the pandemic. Never in my lifetime did I ever think we would face a pandemic and all the variables that go along with that, but I’m very proud of how my team and Save-On-Foods in general have handled these challenges.

What are some of your biggest career highlights/greatest achievements?

The day Darrell Jones called to promote me to store manager in 2015 was definitely a major highlight. I also take a lot of pride in participating in community support events. My team and I have helped many local schools, organizations and groups throughout the Fraser Valley. Throughout my career at Save-On-Foods, I’ve helped raise thousands of dollars for BC Children’s Hospital by organizing local events at my stores. My previous store in Mission was also a proud supporter of the Starfish Backpack program, providing food for the backpacks at cost, helping families in the community who need support on weekends when they can’t rely on school breakfast and lunch programs

What do you like most about your job?

To put it simply, helping people—whether it’s customers, team members or vendors. I love having the ability to create a solution to a problem, and having a platform to always improve.

Click here for the full list of 2021 Star Women in Grocery award winners.