SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Mr. Billie is basically a rockstar at the Springdale Sam’s Club.
He’s worked there as a greeter for two years but has worked for Walmart for 28 years, where he’s made the day of many shoppers.
With COVID-19 he hasn’t been able to go to work, so his friends have sent cards to help brighten his day.
On Tuesday (June 9) Sam’s Club came together to give Mr. Billie a big surprise.
“Don’t let the stars get in your eyes,” Mr. Billie said.
Don’t let the stars get your eyes is Mr. Billie’s favorite song to sing to customers as he greets them at the door. Along with singing, he loves to make new friends.
“Well meeting people. That’s my story. I love to associate with the people,” he said.
But over the last few months, Mr. Billie has really missed seeing his friends at work. He’s stayed home due to the threat of COVID-19, so a few people got together to show him how missed and loved he is.
Mr. Billie thought he was coming into the store to fill out paperwork, but instead, he was taken to a table full of multiple poster boards with sweet notes from Sam's Club shoppers and coworkers.
“Having him come in and see his reaction it overwhelmed me and even the folks standing around here. It's just the presence he has. It's so awesome,” said Sam's Club store manager Will Mertig.
Mertig says in their two years of working together, Mr. Billie has made a huge impact on his life and he knows he’s done the same in everyone’s life who walks through the store's doors.
“Mr. Billie is the example how one person can make a difference and when you look at the amount of people, the outpouring we had for this, how many people expressed their gratitude and so on for Mr. Billie you just really have an understanding of how one person just saying hello to people and singing occasionally can really make such an inspiring difference in the world,” Mertig said.
As for now, there is no set time of when Mr. Billie will be back greeting at the door, but he assures us it’ll be as soon as his daughter lets him.