Tom has been with Elder’s since January 1987. His favorite Elder’s project was building our Hardin Valley store. “It took too long, and it was way over budget.  But, it was our best thinking to date in 2019 and fortunately it has been very well received by our customers...and we're thankful for that.” Some of his favorite things about Elder, his father, was that he was obsessive about knowing your name.  He was a greeter at church and worked to learn the name of all 100 folks that entered his door every Sunday morning.  Similarly, he would study lists of names before every Ace convention so he could call people by their names.  He said he wasn't good at names, but he was committed to knowing them. And, actually it wasn't about names; it was about people.  His implied "advice" was that nothing is more important than people... other than God. Tom’s favorite thing about working at Elder’s is our culture of helpfulness and all our people that make it work. He loves what we stand for and how our company lives out our values. In his free time, he enjoys working out at the YMCA, relaxing with Sudoku in the daily newspaper, and visiting stores. Fun fact- Tom used to teach middle school boys in Sunday School- you think business can be tough!

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Elder’s was Steve’s first job and he’s been with our company since 1985! Steve said he’s enjoyed participating in countless new store setups & store remodels over the last36 years. “It's hard work but it's very rewarding to see the finished project, knowing that we've just done something very special for our customers and store teams.” Steve’s favorite thing he learned from Elder was that the seemingly small details matter! Steve says he loves working for a company that is so well regarded and truly appreciated for being the most helpful within our communities. On his off days, Steve enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and putting the decades of knowledge he’s gained at Elder's to good working on home improvement projects. Steve and his wife, Stacy, enjoy taking day trips to small towns and attractions we've never seen. Fun fact- Steve had a classic rock/southern rock band with his brother for several years.  

Cheryl has been with Elder’s since July of 2022. She previously worked at Walmart and Rural King. Her favorite project she has worked on was the CEO Summit we hosted in 2023. She says “this project was a total team collaboration where we worked together to improve every aspect of store presentation and company brand image in a way that benefited our customers and also culminated in a huge team win!” Her favorite thing about working at Elder's is the people she works with. She says watching people grow into more than they may have believed they were capable of has been the most fulfilling thing for her. On her days off she enjoys spending time with her family and playing with her granddaughter! Fun fact- Cheryl has moved 15 times to 11 different states, and yet Rocky Top will always be home for her! She's a big lady vols fan!

Denise has been with Elder’s sinceFebruary 2018. She previously worked at ERMC. Her favorite company project was automating the Weekly Labor Cap and MonthlyLabor Compliance reports. Her favorite Es are Efficiency and Excel. Her favorite thing about working at Elder’s is the enthusiastic reaction she receives when she tells people where she works. She loves the comments about our company and culture and finding which stores are peoples favorites! In her free time, she makes jewelry, watches crime shows and HGTV, tends to her plants and hangs out with her dog. She enjoys watching American Ninja Warrior and says it’s a good metaphor for life -- train hard, run your race well, and cheer your fellow Ninjas from the sidelines.

John has been with Elder’s since January of 1995. Elder’s was John’s first job! His favorite project was the company rebranding we did in2014 because he believes it better connected our company as a local, family-owned business and it’s special to have Elder’s signature on our storefronts! John’s favorite piece of advice from Elder is “to shoot when the ducks are flying!”. When asked his favorite part of working at Elder’s, John said he’s grateful to work for a company that honors God, helps our communities and builds relationships with our customers. In his spare time, John enjoys mountain biking, hiking, camping, hunting/fishing and doing home improvement projects! On his days off, you can find him with his family- outdoors, at the ballfields or at church! Fun fact- John graduated from the University ofTennessee with a  master’s in Agricultural Economics, so he really loves lawn and garden (and the vols!).

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Elder’s was Michael’s first job and he’s been with our company since April 1995. His favorite company project was the remodel of our Hwy 58 store because it was the store where he first worked. He says heading up the project, working through the changes, and seeing the outcome made the effort worth the labor. During his free time, he enjoys woodworking!

Michael has been with Elder’s since October of 2024. His favorite project he’s worked on so far is being able to streamline our month-end closing process (for which we’re very thankful!). When asked what the best thing is about working at Elder’s, Michael said “the people!”. He shared that he was impressed by the tenure of our office staff which he feels speaks volumes about our culture and leadership. In his spare time, Michael enjoys running, reading, building Lego sets and playing guitars. He spends his weekends going to the theater, visiting coffee shops and going out to eat. He also loves taking his son to the Zoo, Aquarium and Creative Discovery Museum. Fun fact- Michael has a Master of Divinity in Advanced Biblical Studies and serves as a bi-vocational pastor/elder at his church!

Elder’s was Dewey’s first job and he’s been with our company since June 1992. His favorite project was Labor Force Optimization in 2007. It was his first taste of getting into all the stores and he says it stretched him more than any project and helped him grow. Dewey’s favorite lessons fromElder were- the importance of remembering names, if you don’t write it down it doesn’t count and never tie your shoes in a watermelon patch. His favorite thing about working at Elder’s is helping people reach their potential. His greatest passion is doing ministry, spending time with his family, making music! He loves to run and has completed several marathons and 50Ks and may even have a50 mile race in his future. Dewey and his family are big Disney fans and try to visit at least every other year!

Jake has been with Elder’s since August of 2024 after working at Tractor Supply. His favorite part about his role as Director of Buying is getting the opportunity to connect with vendors who don’t know much about Elder’s. When asked about the best part of working at Elder’s, Jake said “the culture and the people; even with the number of stores, it’s run like a family-owned business”. In his spare time, Jake enjoys taking on home projects, grilling, exercising and playing baseball and basketball with his boys. He spends his weekends coaching his sons’ sports teams and participating in church activities. His favorite vacations are family trips to national parks! Fun fact- Jake has been connected with Ace his entire life. Both of his grandfathers opened Ace stores in the 50’s and 60’s!

Aaron has been with Elder’s since July of 2022. He previously worked at Walmart and Tractor Supply. His favorite company project was the collaboration on our Bryson City project, seeing an old building being transformed into a beautiful store for the community to enjoy.  His favorite thing about working at Elder's is the culture and the ability he has to collaborate with all areas of the organization to continually make improvements. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, going to the mountains and spending time with his family. Aaron and his son spend most Saturdays at the race track racing dirt late model cars. He also enjoys spending time with his 4 grandchildren.

Todd has been with Elder’s since 1992. His favorite company project was our East Nashville store. It was the first store in our Nashville market and a smaller store for our company. He enjoyed the challenge of getting everything setup on a tight timeline and getting to work with new people! The one thing he learned from Elder was “Don’t order in 10 minutes what can take you 10 years to sell.” His favorite thing about working at Elder’s is working to stay ahead of the game and overcome challenges with construction projects and remodel timelines. In his free time, he enjoys water sports, fishing, biking, golfing and spending time outside! Fun fact- Todd learned to waterski at 4 years old and still enjoys it!

Janet has been with Elder’s sinceDecember 2019. Her favorite company project was implementing Paycom Learning to better track and improve our training. Her favorite thing about working at Elder’s is how the company values it’s associates by offering referral bonuses, training incentives, paid time off, new parents leave, and product discounts to name a few examples.In her spare time, Janet loves completingDollar Tree craft projects, learning to crochet, reading mysteries and watching old black and white films. On her off days, Janet enjoys spending time with her husband, Chad, on their screened porch with their 4 cats. Fun fact- Janet andChad have the same birthdate although she’s a year older.

Heather has been with Elder’s since June 1993. Her favorite company project was our EastNashville home and gift department because her team was able to take an unattractive space and make it into something special for Nashville shoppers. She says the team made the work enjoyable. She says she will always remember that Elder took the time to walk to every cubicle just to say hello and "check in". Her favorite thing about working at Elder’s is seeing customers smile and tell us that they LOVE our Home & Gift department. In her spare time, she enjoys soaking up sunshine on the beach, reading by the pool and hiking to waterfalls with her family. She also loves road trips!

Jason has been with Elder’s since April 2007. His favorite company project was the opening of our Hardin Valley store in 2019, with our biggest garden center to date! It was the first ground up project he was involved in. His favorite thing about working at Elder’s is our culture. In his free time, he enjoys gardening (of course!) and his days off are typically spent in the garden or involved at his church, where he teaches the adult Sunday School Class.

Garrett has been with Elder’s since June of 2015. His favorite project is the 104 building at our Bryson City location because we were able to implement some new categories and revitalize a space that hadn't been used in years. The one thing he said he learned fromElder was that anything can be repurposed, especially with duct tape. When asked his favorite part of working at Elder’s, Garrett said he enjoys the small company environment with a large company impact. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, shooting skeet, grilling on his Traeger, hanging out with his dogTrooper, spending time with my nephew, and poorly managing my fantasy football team.

Elder’s was Joe’s first job and he’s been with the company since November of 1996! His favorite company project was joining the Store Design Team because he enjoy studying other retailers and what they do well and ways we can incorporate new ideas into our stores. He remembers Elder explaining to him at an early age (20ish) about why we used to swap out the light bulbs in the store to insure we maximized life as well as efficiency. Elder taught him early on to be frugal and control expenses for his store. His favorite thing about working at Elder's is how our company respects people-customers, employees and suppliers. On his days off, Joe enjoys boating,fishing, hunting, camping and anything outdoors.  He also enjoys tinkering with vehicles and spendingtime with his wife and kids. Fun fact- Joe served in the Air National Guard and recently retired in December 2020 with 22 years of service.

Roger has been with Elder’s since February 2015. His favorite company project was onboarding our Bryson City location. Not only was it our first Carolina store, but it also became our largest lumber and building materials location. Roger served as our interim Store Manager and his team overcame many operational challenges while learning a new market and category! His favorite thing about working at Elder's is his coworkers and the continued pursuit of unmatched helpfulness. His days off are spent primarily at home with his wife and their two guinea pigs, Gibby and Pierre. Roger and Rachel enjoy working on their home and visiting family in Knoxville. Roger also enjoys reading, fly fishing, and Tennessee Football (go Vols!). Fun fact- in high school, Roger founded the Farragut Unicycle Club!

Will has been with Elder’s since August 2015. The Lafayette relocation was his favorite project since he had the opportunity to expand our outdoor product selection and help merchandise a new store. His favorite thing about working at Elder’s is the opportunity to help people in our local community! In his spare time,Will enjoys riding dirt bikes and racing competitively 3-4 times a year. He also enjoys hiking, mountain bikes, trail running, boating on the lake, music concerts, grilling on the screen porch, campfires, and anything with a good time and great friends! Fun fact- Will volunteered for the fire department for 5years, and has assisted with car wrecks, house fires, medical calls, and rope rescues.

Lori has been with Elder’s since July 1999. Lori graduated from UTC with a double major in accounting and finance.Her favorite thing about working at Elder's is the company culture and she loves that as Elder's grows it still remains a family owned business. She says she enjoys working in the accounting department and the friendships she has with her coworkers. In her free time Lori enjoys spending time with family, traveling with her husband, and doing whatever her 6 year old wants to do!

Rick has been with Elder’s since May 2010. His favorite company project was the construction of our Hardin Valley store in 2019. He was part of the project from the day the concrete was poured! The best advice he received from Elder was“80% of what we worry about never comes true”.His favorite thing about working at Elder’s is our company values, "Stay "Small"...While Growing". In his free time, he enjoys competitive shooting, cooking on the Big Green Egg, working in the yard and relaxing on the back porch. Fun fact- Rick has spent over 3000 hours in the air flying on a KC-10 in the U.S.A.F.

Elder’s was Tanner’s first job and he’s been with the company since February of 2011!His favorite company project was the opening of our Hardin Valley store in 2019.His favorite thing about working at Elder's is that we don’t let policies get in the way of our customer service. We do everything in our power to take care of the customer. In his free time he enjoys working on small projects, playing with his dog, and working on his golf game. Fun fact- Tanner used to be SMOKEY for the University of Tennessee.

Aaron has been with Elder’s since August of 2008. His favorite company project was helping with the reopening of the Ringgold store after the 2011 tornado because he said it felt like we were helping the town by getting the store open. When asked his favorite part of working at Elder’s, Aaron said he enjoys the sense of community it gives and getting to know customers as well as employees. He’s made some good friends over the years! He also enjoys the problem-solving aspect of helping customers with their projects! In his spare time, Aaron enjoys kayaking, bike riding, walking the dog and playing with his girls! On his days off, you can find him with his family- playing and working in the yard! Fun fact- Aaron’s been hanging around Elder’s Ace since his dad joined the company when he was eight!

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Jeremy has been with Elder’s since May of 2012. His favorite company project was setting up our East Nashville store because it was his first project on the merchandising team and he was able to see the impact the store had on it’s community being our first Elder’s store in the market! When asked his favorite part of working at Elder’s, Jeremy said being able to give our associates the tools they need to provide an excellent experience for our customers. In his spare time, Jeremy enjoys cooking on his Traeger, Weber and Blackstone! On his days off, you can find him spending time with family and friends, working in the yard, and playing with his cats! Fun fact- Jeremy is a HUGE Tennessee Vols fan- football, basketball and baseball!

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Kaitlin has been with Elder’s since September of 2012. Her favorite company project is our ongoing project to make our accounting department paperless because of the huge impact it will have on the department.When asked her favorite part of working at Elder’s, Kaitlin said that the vision of helpfulness extends beyond just the customer to the employees. In her spare time, Kaitlin enjoys reading, playing with her kids and binge watching tv shows! Fun fact- Kaitlin usually reads over 100 books a year!