The Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award goes to... 
REACTION!!!
LBU creators realize they’re receiving Walmart’s biggest award
The Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award is given just once a year to associates who demonstrate innovation, excellence and outstanding service. It’s the most prestigious award at Walmart.
Before getting to the shocking reveal, let’s meet the winners. This year’s Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to three associates for creating Walmart’s debt-free college program, Live Better U. And the winners are:
DREW HOLLER
SVP Associate Experience & Operations HR
Walmart U.S.
GAYATRI AGNEW
Senior Director, Foundation
wALMART U.S.
ELLIE BERTANI
Senior Director, Foundation
wALMART U.S.
Since LBU was announced in 2018, more than 25,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club associates from all 50 states have taken advantage of education offerings, including $1 a day college degrees and free high school completion.
Usually, the Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award is handed out at the annual Shareholders Meeting on the first Friday of June by the Walton family. And, it is always a surprise to the recipient. It’s part of the fun.
This year, however, things were different. Due to COVID-19, the quarterly Friday Afternoon Meeting was turned into a virtual Shareholders-like celebration to cap off the first-ever all-digital Associates Week.
The only question was how to surprise this year’s winners. They were told they were invited to the meeting to talk about Live Better U, but the team had different plans. Check out the video to see their real-time reactions:
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