Staff Spotlight: Brett Johnson

A South Knoxville native, Brett became part of the co-op team in August 2020 as a part-time stocker in the Meat Department and is now the full-time Meat Department Manager. Brett started in the retail/grocery industry right out of high school at a Food City store, also working in meat, but was disappointed by the lack of practiced meat processing in-store and quickly refocused on education.

While pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, life circumstances arose leading to a stint of homelessness for about a year and a half, during which Brett experimented with many different educational career options including accounting, acting, and personal physical fitness training.

Prior to Three Rivers Market, Brett worked for the University of Tennessee Medical Center, starting as a part-time transporter, pushing patients in wheelchairs throughout the hospital facility and then moved on to moving patients in beds and the critically ill, including assisting in the resuscitation of people. He eventually became the dispatcher for the Transport Department,  overseeing operations of patient movement within the hospital system.

Brett says, “We all have challenges in life. Sometimes they are hard to overcome. Occasionally, we cannot face those challenges alone. I think that is the main attribute about the co-op that I enjoy the most: the cooperation. Our dedication to education and development of staff, members, and the community. My goal is to excel in whatever I put my energy into whether it be education, the relationship I have with my partner, work-life/professional career, and especially in the gym/fitness-wise, I give my all. I may not be the smartest or strongest or most capable, but I have determination.”

In order to promote a nonprofit organization, Brett would like to add that “Sporting long hair is not just for fashion. I have been donating my hair to Wigs for Kids since I was 6 years old. This organization provides children who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatments with wigs. Wigs for Kids never charges recipient families any fee for wigs.  Locks of Love recipients may be eligible for free wigs but may be asked to donate/contribute to the organization. If you can, I would recommend donating; you never know what kind of impact you can have in the lives of others.”