Crossroads Ace’s John Rice is Golden
Acknowledged for 50 years of dedication
In 1971, the same year Apollo 14 landed on the moon and Disney World first opened its doors in Orlando, Florida, John Rice began his journey in the hardware industry. Today, over five decades later, John remains a beloved employee at Crossroads Ace Hardware in Sun City, Florida. Recently, he was honored with the Estwing Gold Hammer Award for his 50 years of dedicated service.
John’s career in hardware seems to have been guided by fate.
“I was dating a girl whose father was a preacher. The manager of the Ace Hardware attended the same church,” John recalled, explaining how this chance encounter led to his first job at Ace Hardware in Sun City, Florida.
Apart from a two-year stint working for his brother-in-law, John has been with Ace Hardware ever since. Initially with Sun City, and now with Crossroads Ace, which acquired the Sun City store in 2015, John has seen significant changes in the industry, especially in inventory and order fulfillment.
“Back then, we had to write our orders on paper – the kind with 25 lines – and mail them to Chicago,” he reminisced with a laugh, noting that the process could take days, if not weeks. When deliveries finally arrived, “You had to count everything. You counted your pieces, and the driver counted his pieces, and you hoped you both ended up with the same number.”
Returning products to the warehouse was equally challenging.
“You had to write for authorization for returns. So, you’d have the merchandise for two or three weeks before returning it,” he explained. “One time, Miami had a little flicker of snow, and the store put up a display of snow shovels. Ace had a newsletter in the ’70s, and once the headline read, ‘Miami Ace makes it Snow!'”
As technology gradually made its way into retail stores, John’s job became easier and more efficient.
“Now, we do everything with an RF gun,” he said. “And now, you can write up a return 10 minutes before the driver arrives and get it done.”
John’s 50th year with Ace coincided perfectly with the corporation’s 100th anniversary. John joined Crossroads owners Joe Rush, Drew Atchison and Christina Beall, along with former owner Tim Gibson, in Chicago for Ace’s 100th anniversary last June. There, Ace President and CEO John Venhuizen presented John with the Golden Hammer Award from Estwing Manufacturing. Pictured above
“John Rice is a wealth of knowledge and has become a mentor to everyone around him,” said Drew.
“John is such a kind, humble, modest, decent human being who is typically very reserved, unless you get him talking about something he’s passionate about. He is one of the hardest-working individuals in our company and never stops,” Joe added.
In today’s transient society, it’s rare to find individuals who discover their passion and stick with it for a lifetime.
“Now, I see people coming through the store with their kids. I tell them I remember when they were that age,” John said. “I just enjoy doing this. It’s been good.”
Crossroads Ace, with three locations in Lithia and Sun City Center, Florida, has been a valued Paladin Data Corporation client since 2010. Read more about John
We have partnered with independent retail stores across the country for over 45 years. Check out some more of our partner stories.
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