Mr. George Gold Coin: Felicia Jackson

This month, we had the delightful opportunity of speaking with gold coin recipient, Felicia Jackson of Lithia Springs, Georgia. Felicia first joined the Publix family in 2004 and has held many positions throughout the company, most recently receiving a promotion to assistant bakery manager in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you need a quick recap on what the Mr. George Gold Coin is before moving forward, check out this article.

Felicia describes herself as a people person who’s funny, inspirational and motivational ― all attributes that we so greatly admire in an associate. Her coworkers, or family as she calls them, say her upbeat personality and big happy smile are all you need to brighten even the gloomiest of days.

Her favorite thing about Publix is how much the company cares for its employees. She explains that this same philosophy is what she brings with her to work every day. She loves to make her customers feel welcomed and that they are her number one priority while in our store. The reason why she enjoys working in the bakery department above all others is because she gets to meet all sorts of new people and share a part of their special moments with them as they pick out the perfect dessert.

Outside of work, Felicia enjoys shopping with her girlfriends, bowling, decorating her home and most importantly having family time.

The Story

This touching story comes to us from customer Felicia R. of Lithia Springs, Georgia and it’s one that will surely tug at your heart strings. Since we coincidentally have two Felicias in this story, we’ll refer to Publix Felicia as Ms. Jackson.

One Thursday afternoon in early October, Ms. Jackson was working on a cake for another customer in the back when she noticed someone over by the decoration book getting a bit choked up as she browsed for inspiration. After Ms. Jackson walked over to Felicia to ask if everything was alright, she explained that she was shopping for a baby’s first birthday cake for her daughter. She went on to tell her that she was so emotional because sadly her daughter passed away shortly after she was born last year. At that moment, Ms. Jackson pulled Felicia in close to give her a big warm hug to help comfort her. She then took the original cake order that they had begun to fill out, ripped it apart and said she would like to personally make something special for Felicia’s daughter.

When Felicia returned a week later to pick up her cake, what she found made her instantly break down into tears. She described the cake as more beautiful than she ever could have imagined. She went on to tell us that even though her daughter London is no longer here on this earth, Ms. Jackson still honored the free baby’s first birthday cake (smash cake).

Message from Felicia: “I am forever grateful to Publix and Ms. Jackson for recognizing the life of my daughter London and for playing such a special part in her birthday celebration. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am forever a fan!”

When we asked Ms. Jackson what it was like to receive the gold coin, she explained that it was a very emotional, heartwarming experience to be recognized for going above and beyond to do what she felt needed to be done. She told us that knowing we’ve gained a new Publix customer for life means she did her job.

We think it’s safe to agree, Ms. Jackson is a wonderful associate to have on our team and we consider ourselves very lucky. We look forward to watching her continue to grow throughout the Bakery Department and throughout Publix.

Have you ever witnessed an associate truly going above and beyond at your local Publix? Share your story with us on Facebook, Twitter, via our Contact Us page, or give our Customer Care team a call at (800) 242-1227.