Shoppers Have a New Way to Save in Kentucky Heartland

Elizabethtown Sam’s Club® Brings 160 Jobs, Local Organizations Receive $24,000 in Donations

ELIZABETHTOWN, KY., Jan. 15, 2009

When the highly anticipated Elizabethtown Sam’s Club officially opens Thursday, Jan 22, Business, Advantage and Collegiate Members will experience warehouse club savings with access to high quality merchandise and services right in their local neighborhood. Located at 1500 Ring Rd., Sam’s Club has created 160 new jobs in Elizabethtown and is announcing $24,000 in initial grant donations to local organizations. The Elizabethtown Sam’s Club will celebrate its official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 8:30 a.m. and share how the new Club will contribute to the area.

"Elizabethtown has a long history of being the center of commerce for this area,” said Elizabethtown Mayor David Willmoth Jr. “We welcome Sam's Club to our growing community and appreciate their local community support with new jobs and added services.”

Sam’s Club: A Unique Shopping Destination in Kentucky’s Heartland
Club Manager Ryan Flores said the new 135,000-square-foot Sam’s Club was carefully designed to provide Members with a unique treasure-hunt shopping experience of more than 4,000 affordable essential and luxury items.

Flores expects this Club to draw members beyond Hardin County to serve as a much-needed convenience for Elizabethtown. “Our Sam’s Club will be a central shopping destination, so now homeowners, nearby Ft. Knox army personnel and local business operators have access to great values on everyday necessities and services right in their hometown where they work and live,” said Flores.

Budget-conscious and time-crunched shoppers can simplify their shopping with a one-stop-shop. The Club features a Tire and Battery department, an expanded pharmacy with $4 and $9 generic prescriptions as well as great values on branded prescriptions, an optical department and a one-hour digital photo center. The Club Café features pizza, chicken wraps, sodas, soft-serve yogurt and ice cream for a delicious, quick meal.

Shoppers can select custom birthday cakes, artisan breads and desserts from the bakery, as well as an array of produce and choice meats in the deli. The electronics department offers a wide selection of brand name flat panel televisions, digital cameras and video gaming systems. For the home, the Club offers a fresh floral department, furniture, mattresses, exercise equipment and small appliances. The treasure-hunt shopper will find designer handbags, fine jewelry and clothing. Office supplies abound at Sam’s Club from paper, shredders and desks to chairs and software, all help the small business owner looking to reduce expenses on everyday items. The Elizabethtown Sam’s Club will also feature seasonal items from apparel and gifts, party and event décor to outdoor play equipment, barbecue grills and patio furniture in addition to health and wellness services to continually meet the needs of Members who are looking to stretch their dollars.

Commitment to the Environment
According to Flores, Sam’s Club is committed to being an environmental steward. The Club practices simple steps that can make a big difference. “The Elizabethtown Sam’s Club was designed to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste, from our 150 daylight-harvesting skylights that reduce the amount of energy required to light the store by up to 75 percent daily to the LED lighting that operates 70 percent more efficiently than traditional fluorescent lighting,” added Flores.

The cement in the Club’s concrete flooring is made with recycled materials, and baseboards are manufactured from 100 percent recycled plastic. The digital photo department uses green technology, operating completely without liquid chemicals for photo processing. The Club recycles everything from motor oil to waste cooking oil and uses a sandwich bale process that takes all loose plastic, hangers, aluminum cans and office paper and sandwiches them between cardboard, bundles them into bales and sends them to recycling centers.

In the back of the earth-toned, brick and stucco Club, a beautiful nature preserve was created. According to Flores, the Club worked extensively with the Elizabethtown officials to add large islands of planting beds, surrounding the small creek and the back lot with hundreds of shrubs, tress and plants.

New Jobs Created
Club Manager Ryan Flores will manage the Club’s 160 new associates. Flores came to Elizabethtown after starting his Wal-Mart career in 2003 as an hourly associate in Manchester, Conn. “I have a great opportunity here in Elizabethtown after working my way through the Sam’s Club management training program and I hope to be a good example for our new associates. It’s an exciting career,” said Flores. “My commitment is to work with our team to serve our customers and to be a great partner for this community.”

Membership Provides Exceptional Value and Services for Business, Home and Life
A Sam’s Club Membership provides small business owners and operators access to additional services to help increase productivity and profitability including health insurance solutions, merchant credit card processing, marketing solutions and numerous other benefits for their business provided by third party vendors.

With a valid college ID and collegiate email address, students can obtain a year-long Sam’s Club Collegiate Membership for $40 and receive a $15 gift card to help offset the cost of their first purchase. Sam’s Club offers the ideal solution for Collegiate Members as they combat high tuition costs with the essentials. From compact refrigerators to bedding to laptops, Sam’s Club has what Elizabethtown Community and Technical College students need with values that are sure to help them get the top grade in comfort, nutrition, organization, technology and entertainment.

Sam’s Club Celebrates Community Commitment
As part of Sam’s Club commitment to give back to the communities it serves, associates from the Elizabethtown Club have selected several local organizations to receive a total of $24,000 in grants from the Wal-Mart Foundation. A special $5,000 grant will be given to the America’s Second Harvest food bank in Elizabethtown as part of a special check presentation which will be held during Community Day on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m.

America’s Second Harvest of Kentucky’s Heartland Executive Director Gary Miles says this donation marks the beginning of a valuable partnership for the regional agency. "Thanks to the Sam’s Club donations, our regional food bank is able to better serve the 40 agencies right here in Hardin County with bread, meat and produce that we wouldn’t have access to without their support,” said Miles.

The new Sam’s Club will also fight hunger in the Elizabethtown area by making regular product donations to local food banks. The program is part of a partnership between Sam’s Club and Feeding America. Sam’s Club locations across the country regularly donate nutritious, protein-rich food to area hunger relief agencies, helping fight hunger in their communities and reducing food waste.

Grand-Opening Activities
A special Business Member and Community Day preview and shopping event will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. Local residents are invited to attend the official grand-opening celebration on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 8:30 a.m., which will include the official ribbon-cutting ceremony with local dignitaries, including Chamber of Commerce President Tim Asher. The American Legion Post 113 will present the colors and associates Michael Baker and Gina Killinger will sing the national anthem.