Who is Utah’s best bagger? The results are packed and ready to go.
The Utah’s Best Bagger competition took place on August 9 as part of the Utah Food Industry Association’s annual conference at the Davis Conference Center in Layton.
Representatives from Lee’s, Harmons, Macey’s, Dan’s, Lin’s, Dick’s Market and Fresh Market were all on hand to compete with representatives from other grocers around the state.
After judge introductions and a review of rules, baggers battled to earn the opportunity to represent Utah at the national level. During the competition, baggers are judged and receive points in four areas: speed (10 points), proper bag building technique (10 points), distribution of weight between bags (5 points), style, attitude and appearance (5 points).
Following multiple rounds, the top six baggers were:
- Karli West – Macey’s Provo ($500 cash prize)
- Coleton Rasmussen – Macey’s Spanish Fork ($300 cash prize)
- Blaine Curtis – Smith’s ($100 cash prize)
- Kaden Carter – Lin’s Richfield
- Macie Winters – Harmon’s
- Braxton Bird – Smith’s
“We are so proud of our baggers this year,” said Candice Fischer, CRM manager. “They were a great representation of our company and everyone was prepared and competed well.”
In addition to the winners above, Preston Perry, from Lee’s Marketplace was named “fastest” bagger finishing the contest in a blazing 43.33 seconds.
The national competition is put on by the National Grocer’s Association and typically happens in Las Vegas.
“It is so fun and rewarding to see the hard work of so many people paying off,” said Ashlee Johnstun, director of customer relations at ARO. “Baggers, cashiers, front-end managers, store directors and others all play important roles in creating wonderful checkout experiences for our guests. This competition highlights the skills and attitude that make our stores leaders in customer service.”