The Border Beat Quarter 4 September - October 2007

H-E-B Update

By Bob Tellez – Director of Retail Operations Border Region SW Area.

Partners, On September 10th the Border Region was restructured. Our Region now is made up of three areas; Lower Valley Area, Upper Valley Area and Laredo/Southwest Area. Along with theses changes we had leadership changes. Tony Gonzalez, who had for several years overseen the entire Valley Area, took over the Upper Valley. Robert Palomin who had led the Southwest/Laredo Area for the last three years transitioned to lead the Lower Valley Area. With this realignment I was given the opportunity to take on the DRO role for the Laredo/Southwest Area. (The areas are made up of the following stores :) Laredo/Southwest: Laredo 1, Eagle Pass, Del Rio 1, Del Rio 2, Carrizo Springs, Laredo 2, Crystal City, Uvalde, Hondo, Pearsall, Laredo 3, Laredo 4, Laredo 5, Laredo 6, Laredo 7, Laredo 8. Upper Valley: Palmview, Mission 1, Mission 2, Mission3 , Rio Grande City, McAllen 1, McAllen 2,McAllen 3, McAllen 4, Edinburg 1, Edinburg 2, Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, Weslaco 1, Weslaco 2 Lower Valley: Elsa, Donna, Mercedes, Raymondville, Harlingen 2, Harlingen 3, Harlingen 4, San Benito, Brownsville 1, Brownsville 2, Brownsville 3, Brownsville 4, Brownsville, Port Isabel. This change was made to better serve you and our customers by reducing the number of stores the Directors of Retail Operations will lead thus making us more effective and efficient in how we support you; our store Partners, and your store. In addition these changes will allow the DROs and Partners to interact more frequently, and provide us the opportunity to better support you in delivering the best shopping experience to each and every person (customers, partners, vendors, communities) in the Border Region. I know I can speak for Tony, Robert and I, when I say Partners in our stores have been exceptional in accepting these changes. You have welcomed each of us into our new roles in such a warm and positive way, and we each look forward to working with you in our new roles and areas. I encourage each of you to share with Tony, Robert and I how we can better serve you. I am excited and confident that this new structure, under the strong leadership of Laura, will bring continued success to our entire region in the future. As we wrap up 2007 and move into our 2008 fiscal year I would like to share our Priorities for the coming year. These priorities include Inventory Management, Seasonal Sales, Services Co., Customer Service and Partner Retention. Our focus on these areas will continue to make HEB and the Border Region as strong as ever. I encourage you to visit with your Top Store Leaders to get more information on how we can all work together to make these priorities a part of our daily work. I know that with the support of our great Partners in the Border Region we will have great year in 2008! See you in the stores! Bob

Partner Spotlight

By Tommy Guerra -Grocery Manager, Mission 3

Ralph Ramirez is an outstanding partner who exemplifies loyalty to both his family and our company. He has been with the company for 17 years, but more importantly noted, all of them have been overnight. He has had to balance work and family and has done a tremendous job. As a matter of fact, his family has become more united now that, not only Ralph works for the company, but so does his wife, Sherri (Mission #3), his son at Mission #1 as an overnight stocker, and his daughter at Mission #2 as a checker. They are a great family and hope they continue to grow their family with ours. Ralph also recently won "BEST STOCKER" for the Border Region, which is a great accomplishment. He competed against the best of the best in the region and prevailed. He took home a 42" plasma and a home surround system, and best of all the Best Stocker for the Border Region award. I truly am fortunate to have had the pleasure to work with such a fine individual. Ralph is a piece that makes Mission #3, but more importantly, ME.

By Rick Martinez-Grocery Manager, Laredo 6

Carlos Zamora has played a very important role in reducing our inventory and maintaining our sales. He is a self starter and is constantly seeking ways to develop himself. He learned to do PDP, SRS on his own, and is now venturing into learning the Pin Point system. He has performed and jumped into the Lead position in Grocery since his arrival to Laredo 6 – 586 four months ago. Carlos is currently the coach for his three kids’ soccer team and has taken two additional teams. He has recently also taken the Stocker Trainer for the Laredo area. He is very devoted to his family and to H-E-B. Thank you Carlos!!

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Welcome

2 Partner Spotlights Events

3 Events

4 Career Partners on the Grow

5 “Gen Y” 4-1-1

We want to hear from you! If you have a Partner story that you would like featured in the Border Region News Letter, please send the following information: Name of Partner, Store Number, Contact Phone Number, and a description of the event, to Aida Cristina Ramirez “Criss” at UHRCR@HEB.COM . Our Regional Team will review all summaries and select the entries!

By Priscilla Hernandez

Stockers, baggers and checkers were protagonists of our best Olympic event held on September 29th at the San Juan Store. We had a tremendous turnout from all over the region including Partners, store leadership, families, and some senior leadership from San Antonio to cheer on those participating. We have always had an encouraging spirit for all our Partners who do well, but with this style of motivation and token of appreciation, we wanted to take it a step further by really reaching out to both our new and experienced Partners who strive in their work areas.

Both competitions were judged by experienced store leaders who were grading the participants on SOP compliance, efficiency, friendliness, and creativity. The top scorers were then awarded certificates, medals, cash prizes, and other rewards. (Winners listed at bottom)

This is the first year Grocery and Central Checkout unite to celebrate the best of the best performance (Stocker competition and STARSS). The other department regional directors are already excitingly talking about how they, too, can get their Partners involved with the annual Olympics. The smiles on all Partners faces and the fun witnessed that day were more than anyone could have imagined. The results are a living proof of how a gesture like this one that shows employees we care about their contribution can go a long way. Grocery is experiencing significant increases in retention in the past recent years since we began with this and many more recognition programs.

Suzanne Wade, President of SAFD, also made it out to the southern most tip of the Texas Border to see with her own eyes what the best of the best looks like. Our Border VP, Laura Gump, and our DROs, also engaged in a little friendly competition amongst each other carrying out the exact same job a grocery stocker, cashier, and CSA does. They too were judged and scored on their performance. Congratulations to the winners!!!! A spirit award was also given to 2 stores who displayed the most team spirit for their competing Partner. Grocery Ralph Ramirez- Mission # 3..........1st place- 42 inch plasma with surround sound Mark Noriega- Weslaco # 1..........2nd Place - 60gb IPOD with IHOME for Ipod Robert Cardenas- Laredo # 1........3rd place - Kodak easy share digital camera with 1gb memory card SPIRIT AWARD went to McAllen #1 Service Angie Villarreal and Cindy Pena- Raymondville.....1st Place $1,000 for team Charles Adams and Joe Trevino- Brownsville # 5.....2nd Place $400 for team SPIRIT AWARD went to Laredo # 8

On Tuesday, September 11, H-E-B Partners honored

local fire departments and commemorated the

heroism and courage of firefighters to keep our

communities safe.

Volunteers from all the stores helped out for the day

and served breakfast and lunch to the firefighters.

They also performed service and maintenance

projects along with firefighters, such as yard work,

station cleaning, painting, equipment cleaning

(including the massive fire trucks!) and preparation

work.

In the pictures are partners from Rio Grande City

celebrating the heroes.

The celebration of Mexico’s Independence has become a tradition at Laredo #6. Every year most of our customers make it a

point to come in to the store on this day to celebrate with us this very important holiday.... This year we had participation from

the Laredo Heat Soccer Club, Mariachi Azteca from Cigarroa, Christina's and Viviana's Dance Studios, Sheriff's Dept., Buddy

and friends. Besides creating excitement for customers, Partners look forward to this event because this is a day that they can

dress up and be part of all the events...

Everybody enjoyed the taste of the delicious “TORTA”, a typical plate from Mexico. The torta was made by Fernando Espinosa

(Bakery Mgr), Fernando Perez (Bakery Lead) and Ana Ponce (Deli Mgr) with the help of Vendor “Don Beto”. Of course, all the

ingredients were bought at HEB. In the picture we can see Fernando Perez (Bakery Lead), "Don Beto" (vendor) and Judge

Veliz (Precinct Judge).

H-E-B cares about its Partners and their families On Tuesday, September 18, Brownsville stores rolled out a pilot program “PASSPORT to Health” led by Rene Rios our SORL partner. The program is a Health Expo designed to educate and help Partners in living a healthier lifestyle. More than 250 partners and their families were benefited from the planned events. The events available for the attendees included: Health screenings, high blood pressure information, Tips on nutrition, and Physical therapy. In addition, by visiting designated booths throughout the event, our partners had the opportunity to earn 2 Healthy Action Credits that can be applied toward their 2008 deductible.

School of Retail Management The School of Retail Management (SORM) provides Partners with specific on-the-job and classroom training in management skills and leadership development to prepare them to become department managers at HEB. SORM training runs between7-10 weeks and partners are promoted to an Assistant Department Manager position or as a Department Manager in retail departments. Watch for postings or ask your Store Leader for more information on how to apply for SORM. Congratulations go out to the most recent SORM graduates who completed their training and were assigned in October. Valley Central Checkout: Martha San Miguel, Betty De Witty, Anita Gonzalez, Jessica Hernandez, Luis Carlos Gonzalez, Christopher Salinas, and Jesus Ortega. Cosmetics: Hilda Garza, Elisa Hinojosa, Lori Lee Garces. Bilma Barrientos, and Melissa Peralez. Drug Store: Aide Garcia. Laredo SW

Manager in Charge: Juan Ortiz, Roland Contreras. Central Checkout: Raquel Espinosa (CCOM), Adolfo Prieto, Amanda Peña,

Cruz Hernandez, Joann Lerma, Lori Venegas. Alison Muñoz, Rita Villa. Market; Javier Reyes. Seafood: Melissa Cocchiaro.

Bakery: Misti Ortiz. Drug Store: Pedro Garza. Photo: Rebecca A. Cadena. Deli; Angela Armendariz. Grocery: Roberto Gomez.

Floral: Mary Guevara.

School of Retail Leadership The School of Retail Leadership is a program that is designed to train Partners to become future Store Leaders. At the present

time, we have a very strong program with 12 trainees in the Valley and 2 in the Laredo/Southwest. Four of the Partners that were

promoted to SORL in June were successful Grocery Managers. Please join me in Congratulating Rene Ruiz, Efren Matamoros,

Priscilla Hernandez and Julio Ramirez. Additionally, please welcome the following Partners to H-E-B and the SORL program:

Meredith McGowan, Adrian Leal, Amando Uresti and Andy Beard.

By: Jason Ahr and Lucero Perez

It’s time to start looking towards the future. Each age group brings its own set of management requirements, wants, and attitudes.

It is up to us, Generation Y (1978-1990), to step it up and apply our multitasking skills, education, creativity, technical skills…

10. CSA’s are seen picking up shopping carts in quick carts.

9. Partners clock in and out with a finger image.

8. Your paycheck is on your bank account first thing in the morning.

7. Most of your training sessions are on the web.

6. Partners can save between two and 10 percent on the personal purchase of a Dell Computer System.

5. You can skip a trip to blockbuster and rent DVD’s at your local H-E-B for one dollar.

4. H-E-B starts selling Mobile cell phones.

3. You can order your digital prints from home.

2. Earn points redeemable for H-E-B Gift Cards when you use the H-E-B MasterCard from Chase or the H-E-B Credit Card

1. Several locations are collecting items to recycle such as clothing, cell phones, and eye glasses in an effort to help keep our

communities clean.

BORDER REGION LEADERSHIP TEAM

Leadership Team

Human Resources

Laura U. Gump Border Region VP

Rocio Lozano

Human Resources Director

Tony Gonzalez Director of Retail Operations – Upper Valley Area

Cindy Shuman

Sr. Human Resources Advisor

Robert Palomin Director of Retail Operations- Lower Valley Area

Yvonne Elizondo

Human Resources Manager - Valley

Bob Tellez Director of Retail Operations – Laredo/SW Area

Sonya Volk Silva Human Resources Manager - Valley

Karla Alamilla Human Resources Manager – Laredo/SW

Alma Delia Rocha

Human Resources Associate – Laredo/SW

Marketing Directors Monica Pena Sr. Human Resources Coordinator,

Valley

George Quiroz Director of Market/Seafood Aida Cristina

Ramirez “Criss”

Human Resources Coordinator,

Laredo/SW

Dora Ortiz Director of Bakery Richard Escalera Administrative Assistant II

Dennis Young Director of Drugstore, Photo and Cosmetics Recruiting

Noelia Romero Director of Deli

Leslie Balraj Associate Recruiter

Mike Menchaca Director of Grocery Sarith Sanchez Recruiting Coordinator - Valley

Joel Garza/Patsy Cavazos

Director of Pharmacy

Norma Trevino Recruiting Coordinator -Laredo

Jennifer Sims Director of Customer Service

Jose Carmona Director of Produce/Floral

Mohsen Husain Director of Shelf Edge

Rick Hernandez Director of Loss Prevention

Office Supports

Rosie Blanco Laura U. Gump and Tony Gonzalez

Zulema Castro Bob Tellez

Julie Perez Tony Gonzalez, Robert Palomin, Jennifer Sims, Mohsen Husain,

Emily Ibanez-Garza Dennis Young, Joel Garza, Mike Menchaca,

Liz Huerta George Quiroz, Dora Ortiz, Jose Carmona, Noelia Romero, Rick Hernandez

Virginia Perez Shelley Parks

If you would like more information on the Border Region HR department, visit the H-E-B Intranet (go to “Departments”, “Border Region”, and “Border Region Field Human Resources”). If you need help getting on the Intranet, please see your store’s Administrative Assistant.