Brandyn Leeson, a grocery bagger from Boyer’s Food Markets in Berwick, Pennsylvania, took home the Pennsylvania’s Best Bagger Championship yesterday in Harrisburg and the opportunity to compete at the national contest in Las Vegas next February.
The competition, hosted by the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA), brought together the state’s best grocery baggers for an action-packed bag-off measuring their speed, proper bag building technique, weight distribution, style, attitude and professional appearance at Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg.
Leeson, who has been a grocery bagger for six years, lead the 13 other contestants going into the final round. The top four contestants competed in championship final, which he won by more than three-quarters of a point. This was his second time competing in the contest, where he placed second last year. It’s also a repeat championship for Boyer’s Food Markets.
He won a trip to compete at the national championship during the National Grocers Association Show, February 29, 2016 in Las Vegas; $250 and a championship trophy.
In addition to Leeson, the finalists are: 2nd place Dan Zeoli, Pittsburgh St. Shop ‘N Save, Greensburg; 3rd Place Angelia Migliacco, Bracey’s ShopRite, Daleville; and 4th Place Jennifer Gronki, Giant Eagle, Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
The 14 contestants represented Bracey’s ShopRites, Covington Township and Mt. Pocono, Pa; Boyer’s Food Markets, Orwigsburg, Pa.; Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Henning’s Markets, Harleysville, Pa.; McMenamin Family ShopRites, Philadelphia, Pa. and Pittsburgh St. Shop ‘N Save, Greensburg, PA.
The baggers competed in preliminary store and company-level bagging contests to enter the state championship, or were selected by their manager as a top bagger. They were timed while bagging in environmentally-friendly reusable shopping bags.
News anchor Alicia Richards, WHTM-TV ABC 27 in Harrisburg, emceed the contest and in honor of her participation, PFMA donated $500 to her charity of choice -— Gaudenzia, which operates alcohol and drug treatment programs.
Special thanks to Mary Bach, a nationally recognized consumer advocate, who lead the judging and provided the rules to the contestants, and Mark Platts, a teacher at Dauphin County Technical School, who also served as a judge. In addition, our thanks to the students from Dauphin County Technical School’s marketing club, who served as timers and product set-up assistants.
Thank you to The Shops at Strawberry Square, who sponsored the event and Penn Jersey Paper Company, who provided the reusable bags. Additional thanks go to Karns Quality Foods for loaning the shopping carts and to Central PA Scale and Equipment for loaning the scales for the contest.
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, based in Camp Hill, is a statewide trade association advocating the views of more than 700 retail food stores, wholesale distributors and other associated business members throughout Pennsylvania. PFMA members operate more than 3,200 stores and employ more than 100,000 Pennsylvanians. For more information on PFMA, visit www.pfma.org.
