Merry makers

WASILLA — When you see Billy Weatherby bagging groceries at the front of the Wasilla Carrs/Safeway store, you can’t help but smile.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!” Weatherby chirps to another customer passing through the Express Lane, his red-and-white Santa hat bobbing back and forth as he carefully negotiates stuffing king crab legs into a white plastic sack.

It’s hard not to smile because Weatherby, who has been working at the same store for 15 years, seems to exude a joy for life not seen every day.

“I love working here because I like people,” the 1994 Wasilla High graduate said Monday. “I know a lot of people because I’ve been here a long time. And I have a good smile.”

Weatherby is one of 11 Wasilla Carrs/Safeway employees who have some sort of physical or mental challenge. They’ve been placed at the store throughout the years through various organizations like Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults, Alaska Vocational & Counseling Services, and the Alaska Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Residents with hearing and visual impairments, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities have been welcomed with open arms by Carrs/Safeway and many other local businesses and organizations such as Alaska Toy Rental, Spenard Builder’s Supply, CAC Plastics, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Colony Manor assisted living, and the Palmer Senior Center, to name a few.

Carrs/Safeway, however, seems to stand out in its enthusiasm and commitment to employing a diverse slice of the community.

“Diversity and inclusion is one of the core elements of our company’s philosophy,” said store manager Stan George, who has worked for the company since 1981. “We’ve won a number of awards for our work in trying to support people with disabilities.”

Both Trina Bohman, an employment consultant with Alaska Vocational & Counseling Services Inc., and Sheri Brody, supported employment department manager of Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults, raved over Carrs/Safeway’s attitude toward helping those who might otherwise seem unemployable.

“They are just wonderful,” Bohman said. “They go way above and beyond what’s normally expected. They make sure their other employees are there to assist them and they really make them an integral part of the company. They really walk the walk when it comes to community spirit.”

Brody, who has been in the social work field in the Valley for 30 years, said there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing someone with a disability become a productive member of the community.

“There’s nothing neater than seeing someone succeed and take pride in what they do,” Brody said. “Most of us define ourselves by our work, so just being able to hold a job can be huge.”

Weatherby’s mother, Kay Hills, said Monday she’s quite grateful for all of her son’s co-workers. Without them, she said, he wouldn’t be able to continue doing what he loves so much.

“If he wasn’t working, it would be pretty hard for him,” said the mother of three and grandmother of four. “It’s really hard for him to entertain himself without others around. He’d have nothing. He’d just be sitting at home, being lonely.”

Although Weatherby currently lives at home with his parents, his family plans to build a small house for him next to their log cabin off Wasilla-Fishhook Road. Then he’ll at least have his own space, but will still be close enough to the family to not feel isolated, his mother said.

Weatherby’s 31-year-old co-worker, Aaron Kulhanek, lives independently, but still appreciates his Mat-Su Services job coach, Brene Framstad. She stopped by to visit him in the seafood department as he was meticulously designing the day’s display of fresh crab and shrimp.

She offered him kudos on his handling of the intercom, announcing the hottest special on ice.

“I was super excited to know you were going to be working back here,” Framstad told him, explaining she used to work in Fred Meyer’s seafood department.

Framstad said she was recruited to work for Mat-Su Services by Brody two years ago while attending a Special Olympics event.

“My sister is developmentally disabled, so I’ve worked with Special Olympics pretty much all my life,” she said. “When I moved out here, I didn’t like being away from the athletes, so it wasn’t hard for Sheri to talk me into this job. I love it. And people like Aaron are so great to work with.”

Kulhanek, who has worked for Carrs/Safeway for four years, said he also prides himself in winning some Special Olympics events.

“I’ve won several times in golf and I’m pretty good in skiing and track and field,” he said.

He’s also good at listening to customers and attending to their needs, according to fellow seafood clerk William Connor.

“It’s always good to have Aaron around,” Connor said. “He adds to our humor here and he’s really one of the best workers we’ve got.”

Connor said he loves working for a company that cares so much about the community as a whole.

“You don’t see this as much at other stores,” he said. “I think it makes us all appreciate each other more.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.