Veteran Spotlight | A Naval veteran has managed a community-oriented home improvement store for seven years.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (CAPE FEAR WEEKEND) -

Bill Feirmer manages the Lowes Home Improvement store in Monkey Junction near Carolina Beach. He is a Navy veteran who is proud to run such a community-oriented store.

When Hurricane Florence destroyed parts of the Boys and Girls club Feirmer said the Home Improvement chain sprung into action.

The Boys Girls Club downtown was damaged pretty severely. We were able to really step up as a company. We did a $100,000 donation to support a remodel for the entire inside of that community center and it was completed by one of our pro customers.

—  Bill Feirmer Store Manager of Lowes

but that’s not all the company did to aide those effected by the storm.

“That Thanksgiving, we had an event down there where we gave all the families turkeys and just to be involved in that, to see like everybody’s faces. And this was a time like Thanksgiving right after a storm where people truly and there was a lot of really didn’t know where they were going to get Thanksgiving dinner. So we gave out, I think was 500 Thanksgiving meals.”

—  Bill Feirmer Store Manger of Lowes Home Improvement

Bill has been managing the store for seven years. As a veteran he wears a camouflage vest unlike the red vests that other employees wear. This is one of the many things Lowes has done to honor those who served. Any military employee can sport a camouflage vest, and Fermier says

“It’s really cool when you can see how many veterans are working in your store.”

The perks for veterans aren’t just for employees. Lowes home improvement also offers preferred parking for military veterans, and a 10% discount everyday.

Fermier told us that over his almost seventeen years employed with the home improvement chain that he is constantly proud of the company’s commitment to the community. One of his favorite aspects of his job is helping people, and developing talented employees strive for success.

He takes pride in the fact that people are happy when they visit the garden center to do their seasonal yard work, and strives to give every customer a great experience.

Fermier had some advice for those members of the military that are transitioning to civilian life.

Be proud of your experience. With those in the military. And a lot of times at very young ages, people are responsible for so much. I can remember when I was and I joined when I was a little older because I had already gone to college. But, you know, at 25 years old, I was responsible for a combat information center on the ship, which is where you really fight a ship from

And that is a huge responsibility. So when you look at young people, they join the military and they go in and move up in rank and become sergeants or petty officers. They are getting very valuable experience and that definitely translates to the civilian working and especially in retail where you have a very fast paced, hectic environment. You have different challenges every day. So having that experience is an invaluable.

—  Bill Feirmer Store Manger of Lowes Home Improvement

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