Dollar General's 16,000th Store Helps Florida Community Recover from Hurricane Michael

As the sun rose on Saturday, September 28, 2019 in Panama City, Florida, the community was greeted to a grand opening celebration of Dollar General’s newest milestone store—the Company’s 16,000th store! 
 
The morning was full of celebrations!   
Dollar General’s division vice president, Mo Khan, welcomed everyone and happily expressed the Company’s excitement to celebrate Dollar General’s 16,000th store grand opening in Panama City.  He also explained that both the city of Panama City and city of Springfield had each declared September 28 as “Dollar General Day” in recognition of the Company’s milestone grand opening in the community.
 
“While it’s fun to talk about the number of stores, we know there is really only one that counts – and that’s the one where you shop; Your Dollar General,” Khan said.
 

Before the grand opening ribbon was cut, before hundreds of customers received free $10 gift cards and tote bags with complimentary samples and before everyone enjoyed receiving additional samples from Dollar General’s vendor partners, the Company recognized the efforts of the community as they continue to rebuild from Hurricane Michael’s 2018 landfall while demonstrating its mission of Serving Others.  In partnership with Kellogg’s, Dollar General presented two $16,000 checks to Cedar Grove Elementary School and Parker Elementary School.  These two schools have not only added students displaced from the hurricane, they have also worked to recover from sustained damage themselves, and the donations will be used for each school’s reading and literacy programs. Throughout the day, the focus was on celebrating Dollar General’s customers and the community of Panama City that it proudly calls home.
 
After Hurricane Michael
After Hurricane Michael’s October 2018 landfall on the Florida panhandle, the community was working to rebuild from the damage and devastation that the category five storm delivered to its neighborhood. Businesses closed, residents were removed from their homes and local schools were inhabitable. One of those area businesses was the Dollar General location at 3520 East Third Street, which was destroyed.
   
While the community moved forward in its recovery process, the lot that housed the former Dollar General store sat empty—but not for long. By the end of May 2019, residents watched a brand new Dollar General rise from the destruction, and by the end of September, almost exactly a year after Hurricane Michael’s landfall, Dollar General reopened!
 
“We are so grateful to be back in this community,” said Khan. “Our neighbors in Panama City and Springfield have welcomed us back with open arms, and we are so happy to celebrate our company’s milestone today alongside them. We hope to continue serving them for many years to come, both with great prices, value and convenience, but also through our mission of Serving Others.”