Names of Note: Modesto’s Save Mart scores with Forbes. Local author in pandemic book
Save Mart placed first among grocers in a Forbes ranking of America’s Best Employers for Women for 2020.
The ranking is based on anonymous surveys of workers about pay, working conditions, diversity, parental leave and other measures.
The Modesto-based chain was 35th on the overall list. It totaled 300 employers and was topped by the REI outdoor gear company.
The grocery business started in Modesto in 1952 and now has 206 stores in California and Nevada under the Save Mart, Food Maxx, Lucky and Lucky California banners. It employees about 16,000 people.
“The Save Mart Companies has long been committed to inclusivity and cultivating a culture that supports women,” CEO Nicole Pesco, granddaughter of co-founder Michael Piccinini, said in a news release.
The business magazine compiled the ranking, one of many it has done on various topics, in partnership with Statista Inc.
“We are dedicated to creating an environment where women not only feel comfortable, but a workplace that fosters professional development and enables employees to succeed, both at home and in the workplace,” said Lee Debra Gelb, vice president for human resources at Save Mart.
COVID-19 anthology features Modestan
Mike Monson of Modesto is among the 40 authors in a new anthology about COVID-19. It is titled “Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic” and will raise money for charity.
Monson contributed a short story inspired by a trip to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto at dawn on March 8.
“I was Uber driving that night,” he said in a news release,“ and it was at the very beginning of the pandemic. I picked up a woman and her three children for a trip to DMC. The woman was constantly disinfecting her children’s hands with wipes while telling me that there were way more cases in Northern California than the media and the government were willing to admit. During that innocent morning, the ride seemed so strange and the woman so paranoid that I went home and wrote an exaggerated version – one that now seems almost real.”
The anthology features authors from around the world taking on COVID-19 in fiction, poetry, essay and other forms. It is selling on Amazon for $7.99 in Kindle format and $12.99 in paperback. Buyers can suggest charities that should get the profits.
Monson has written noir crime fiction based in Modesto – “The Scent of New Death,” “What Happens in Reno” and “Tussinland.” He plans a fall publication of “Ridesharing,” a collection based on his experiences as an Uber and Lyft driver.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
