William Carder, 22, won Best Bagger honors at the annual Tennessee’s Best Bagger competition at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Thursday, June 4. The Powell, Tennessee, resident beat out four other contestants from across the state for the coveted Tennessee’s Best Bagger trophy. The event is part of the annual convention of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association.
As Tennessee’s Best Bagger, Carder is eligible to represent Tennessee at the national competition at the National Grocers Association (NGA) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, in February. In addition to earning statewide “bagging rights,” William walked away with a $1,750 TGCSA scholarship and a $250 NGA scholarship.
“I am proud to have won this contest and am excited about the chance to compete at Nationals,” said Carder, an employee of Food City #679 in Powell. A recent graduate of Crown College of the Bible, he said he would apply the scholarship money to continuing studies.
The contestants were rated on speed, bag-building technique and weight distribution between bags, style, attitude and appearance. “I am so proud of William and all of our contestants”, said Rob Ikard, TGCSA president. “These competitors represent the best things about the food retail industry: quality, efficiency and customer service excellence.”
Betsi James is the special events manager for the Food City Knoxville division.
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