Houchen's Employee Reunion will be on Friday, Sept. 15, beginning 6 p.m. at the Sportsman Club for any employee who has ever worked at any Houchens store. This is the only reunion that has ever been held.
Jimmy Davenport, Kim Grider Coleman, Glen and Linda Hatler and Sharon Milam Ray have been planning it for months. ”We are all so excited and having so much fun planning it. There will be a memory table for those that are no longer with us. Any questions, call my cell at 270-542-9327,” Ray says.
This makes a 100 years of Houchen's being in existence. The first Russellville store opened in 1946. There were three years locations here for many years, Logan Place, Market Square and Logan Square. Priceless IGA is a Houchens store currently open in the old Logan Square location.
“We couldn't even count how many employees came and went just here in Russellville, several, several hundred,” Ray says. “We all agree that our customers were so special to us.”
Houchens Industries began in 1917 with the Houchens Food Group when Ervin G. Houchens opened his first grocery store in a rural area of Kentucky. The potential of the small store was recognized as Houchens took the lead in promoting his stores by utilizing the latest innovations and theories in grocery management, and also by purchasing businesses that correlated to the grocery industry.
According to HouchensIndustries.com, “Nearly a century later and more than 18,000 employees corporate-wide, Houchens Industries is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States. We maintain a widely diverse portfolio of holdings to support company growth and prosperity for our employee owners.”
Among the area business giants that are part of diversified Houchens Industries are Scotties Contracting & Stone, Sheldon’s Express Pharmacy, Shell stations, Crossroad IGAs, Food Giant, the Center of Insurance, Stewart Richey Construction, Southern Recycling, Tony Scott Trucking and Van Meter Insurance.
Houchens was a great corporate partner of development and community spirit in Logan County for over 50 years. Founder E,G, Houchens came to the county occasionally, and his sons Ruel and Suel Houchens were here often, especially in support of Bro, Joe Carrico when it was Toys for Tots time.