Businesses up for local awards

Published 10:12 pm Thursday, July 21, 2016

By Samantha Bolden | The Selma Times-Journal

Time is running out to vote for the 2016 Alabama Retailer of the Year.

Three Selma businesses are up for awards through the retailer of the year program, but voting ends on July 24. Fuller Building & Supply Co., Sturdivant Hall Museum Shop and the Coffee Shoppe were all nominated.

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The top winner will receive the Customer’s Choice Award during the Oct.18 Alabama Retail Day Luncheon and Awards. Last year, Selma’s Rountree Outdoors was named the 2015 Retailer of the Year in the less than $1 million division.

The businesses are divided into four categories based on annual sales. The categories are less than $1 million, $1 million-$5 million, $5 million-$20 million and more than $20 million.

“By voting, it strengthens our community,” said Chamber of Commerce executive director Sheryl Smedley.

The qualifications for nomination include the number of years in business, annual sales volume, number of locations, products sold, total employees, sales and profit performance, and much more.

Bruce Fuller, owner and president of Fuller Building & Supply Co., said that he’s excited his company was considered for nomination. The company is nominated in the $1 million to $5 million annual sales category.

“We’re very honored and it was very unexpected,” Fuller said. “We appreciate all of the people in the city of Selma and how good they’ve been to us for over 40 years.”

Fuller Building & Supply Co. has been open since 1970, and Fuller said that his employees have contributed a lot to his business.

“We’re a close-knit family here,” Fuller said. “We go the extra mile to satisfy customers and to do things the right way as well as treating people the way that they want to be treated.”

Sturdivant Hall Museum Shop was nominated in the less than $1 million annual sales category.

“The gift shop is a big part of the museum, and with this nomination, hopefully people will know more about us now,” said Sturdivant Hall employee Patti Currey.

Jackie Smith with The Coffee Shoppe could not be reached for comment on the nomination.

The Coffee Shoppe is nominated for Emerging Retailer of the Year.

The ceremony will start Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business.

Voting can be done online through midnight Sunday at alabamaretail.org.