Palmer Fred Meyer employees help local couple have a happy Valentine’s Day

PALMER— Three Palmer Fred Meyer employees went above and beyond to help local couple Dana and Randy Gordon have a happy and memorable Valentine’s Day this year. To the employees, it was a small act of kindness but to Dana, it meant everything.

“Above and beyond doesn’t even begin to express what they did for my family,” Dana said.

Randy is a U.S. Army Veteran. He’s currently working on a military base in Fairbanks.

Dana said her husband is a veteran and they’ve gone through two deployments so they’re familiar with separation, but these last three months were particularly tough.

The Gordons added another member to the family in November of 2019. Randy hasn’t had much time to see the new baby and spend time with the family. Dana said he was heartbroken that he wouldn’t be able to see them on Valentine’s Day, telling her that all he wanted was to “hold his girls.”

Miles away but determined to send his love, Randy called Palmer Fred Meyer from Fairbanks with special request, one the store policy doesn’t allow but through the kind actions of employees and some problem solving, was fulfilled with a loop hole.

“A gentlemen from produce, a customer service associate, the click list supervisor were all involved to make this happen for me,” Dana said.

Randy spoke with Palmer Fred Meyer employee, Jon Cagle, on the phone. He asked if they could deliver flowers to his wife who was home with the children just around the corner.

Cagle recounted the instance, saying that he told Randy the store doesn’t deliver flowers but he would ask management to see if they could possibly figure something out.

Katy Bagneschi and Andrea Roberts spoke with Randy for almost an hour and sympathised with his story.

Bagneschi said they couldn’t take a payment over the phone but found a solution. Roberts paid for the flowers out of her own pocket and Bagneschi delivered them. Bagneschi said they knew Randy was a loyal customer and was good for it.

“When you’re in Palmer Fred Meyer, you look at somebody as family,” Bagneschi said.

Cagle said Bagneschi and Roberts’ actions were very sweet and commendable.

“I just took the call,” Cagle said with a laugh.

Cagle said that sense of family Bagneschi was talking about is one of his favorite aspects of coming to work at a major retail store nestled in a small town.

“I love it here. Everyone’s really nice, kinda like a family. It’s a small community, so it’s got that family feel to it, even though it’s a corporate business,” Cagle said.

Bagneschi said it was late in the shift and most of the inventory was gone, so they made a custom arrangement of what was left.

“We did what we could to make something pretty,” Bagneschi said with a laugh.

The mission was accomplished and Dana was at first shocked, then beyond happy when Bagneschi showed up on her doorstep. She was speechless.

“It truly is not a store but an extension of our family. They us by name and face. They’ve seen our kids grow up and they go above and beyond on a daily basis for the people in our community, our extended family,” Dana wrote in a letter to the store. “I cannot thank you all enough for what you’ve done for us and for our little town.”

Palmer Fred Meyer store manager Dean Forkner said this was just another example of what his team does every day. He said it’s indicative of the community they serve.

“I’d say the Palmer Fred Meyer team does what the team does best, we keep Palmer Palmer,” Forkner said. “I couldn’t be more proud.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com