2019 IGA USA HOMETOWN PROUD RETAILERS
Across the nation, IGA USA store owners work day‐in and day‐out to serve their communities with the kind of personalized service and attention to detail that only comes from a locally owned IGA store.
Each year, IGA honors a select few who stand out as the best retailers among the nation’s more than 30,000 independent retailers. From this winners’ circle of IGA Hometown Proud Retailers, IGA then chooses its IGA USA International Retailer of the Year.
Left to right: IGA Chairman Mark Batenic; Mack McLamb; Kevin and Rose Schild; Laura Malisani; Jim Shook and his daughter Allison; IGA CEO John Ross
Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods IGA
Laura Malisani
Havre, Montana
Serviced by: UNFI
Laura Malisani grew up working in the family’s Gary & Leo’s grocery store learning valuable business lessons from her father, Gary, and his business partner, Leo. Today Laura, her husband John, and their business partner Tracy own three Gary and Leo’s Fresh Foods IGA locations, including the award-winning Havre store known for its commitment to local products and high-quality offerings.
Carlie C's IGA
Mack McLamb
Dunn, North Carolina
Serviced by: Merchants Distributors, LLC
As a second
Schild's IGA
Kevin & Rose Schild
Grafton, Ohio
Serviced by: Laurel Grocery Company
Kevin Schild has been working in his family’s Grafton, Ohio IGA for 43 years—first for his father, and now with wife Rose. The
Lake Region IGA
Jim Shook
Hawley, Pennsylvania
Serviced by: Bozzuto's Inc.
Jim Shook has spent over 30 years of his life as an IGA retailer, more than of half of which has been as the owner and operator of Lake Region IGA in Hawley, Pennsylvania, a sleepy resort town with fewer than 2,000 full-time residents. While the town itself might be a little behind, Jim is anything but. He has his nose on the trends, implementing improvements aplenty across the store all in the name of customer satisfaction.