Behind the Counter

December 2023 minute read

By Ben Nussbaum

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson participated in the NACS In Store program in 2022.

Who? That’s no doubt what a lot of people thought when they heard that Rep. Mike Johnson was the new speaker of the House of Representatives. Johnson has only been in Congress since 2017, and he lacked the national visibility of other contenders for the gavel like Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

But in Oakdale, Louisiana, Johnson is well-known. Not only does he represent the community in Congress, but he put on a uniform and stepped behind the counter at the local Y-Not Stop in 2022 as part of the NACS In Store program. His host that day was NACS board member Annie Gauthier.

In fact, all three of the top leaders in the house can boast that they are NACS In Store alumni. Scalise, the majority leader, participated in 2015, and Tom Emmer, the majority whip, did so in 2018.

All three of the top leaders in the house can boast that they are NACS In Store alumni.

You can read about the In Store program in Inside Washington, starting on page 18.

Speaking of behind the counter—and skipping to the final page of this issue—DSOE jumped in 2022, up 14.3% from 2021. Wages and benefits rose from $35,418 per store, per month to $46,980. If you want to be the first to know how DSOE shaped up in 2023, join your peers in Chicago this April for the NACS State of the Industry Summit.

Here’s another spin on the question of who’s behind the counter. At last year’s NACS State of the Industry Summit, I heard Lori Buss Stillman propose that embracing older workers could ease the labor shortage. That inspired an article in this issue of NACS Magazine, “The Case for Older Workers.” One simple suggestion from that story: Let them sit.

I hope your 2023 ends on a high note. See you in 2024.