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The Power of Teamwork and Timeless Life Lessons
Few books and films have become as popular, timeless and renowned as Winnie the Pooh. Over this past year, we have navigated one of the most difficult periods in recent history due to COVID-19. Stories like Winnie the Pooh not only give us some much-needed respite from trying times, but remind us of everlasting life lessons, many of which we can see in practice throughout Wawa.
In these trying times, we continue to serve as a life-line for our customers, communities and each other. In the book, Piglet says to Pooh, “Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?’ ‘Supposing it didn’t,’ said Pooh after careful thought. Piglet was comforted by this.” Small and shy, Piglet is expressing a fear of the unknown, something we can all relate to, especially during this year’s pandemic. Pooh’s response conveys that while the future is unknown, we must all stay positive, a mindset I saw throughout our entire Company this year.
Through sweeping changes in safety protocols to remote working and rolling out new concepts like curbside-ordering, I was continually inspired by our Associates’ ability to not only Embrace Change, but to do it positively and with faith that together we would come out stronger than before.
When reading the book, we are regaled with adventures of a teddy bear called Winnie the Pooh and his friends Piglet, a small toy pig; Eeyore, a toy donkey; Owl, a live owl; and Rabbit, a live rabbit, along with Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh’s best human friend. While each of these characters are unique, they continually come together in times of distress and in times of celebration, showing the power of teamwork and support.
In a famous scene, Piglet says, “Your tree is blown right over, Owl,
and there’s a branch across the door, but Christopher Robin and I can move it, and we’ll bring a rope for Pooh, and I’ll go and tell him now, and I can climb down quite easily, I mean it’s dangerous but I can do it all right, and Christopher Robin and I will be back in about half an hour. Goodbye Pooh!” And without waiting to hear Pooh’s answering, “Goodbye, and thank you, Piglet,” he was off.”
This year I received countless Values Submissions, heard incredible stories and saw first-hand our Flock coming to each other’s aid in every conceivable situation to provide the convenience, the smiles, and the strength to know that together we would get through this and that it would all be okay.