Story & Lesson Highlights with Meta Jo Riseling of Walsh CO

We recently had the chance to connect with Meta Jo Riseling and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Meta Jo, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
We recently were able to make a “Grab and Go” selection to our little store! I has taken 2 years to make this happen but it is finally here. I have laughed and bounced around excited at times when a step fell into place and have cried when something didn’t go well in the process. It is very rewarding to see our customers enjoying healthier options for lunch or a snack.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Meta Jo Riseling, and I’m the Store Manager at Walsh Community Grocery Store. We are a Community Owned and Operated Grocery Store. We’re a hyper-rural grocery store in a food desert, and finding distributors willing to travel this far into South East Colorado has proven to be quite a challenge. I work closely with Nourish Colorado to try to have Colorado produce and other products in our store. Ogallala Commons has also been a huge help in getting this goal of mine competed. I am always up for improvements to our store. I meet with a Board of 5 of our 400 plus shareholders once a month. They help me stay on track and give some awesome advice on how to keep our doors open. Our Community depends on our store. We do struggle at times but it seems to work out, sometimes with a boost from grants and such. I aim to at least end each month in the black $1. My responsibility is not to just the board or the shareholders, but to our entire Community!

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
My family was always big on hard work and honesty. I do not make promises I can not keep and some days work longer that I probably should. When I started at the Store in 2012, our manager Betty Hebberd taught me a lot! She always handled even the toughest things with a smile and level head. We lost Ms Betty back in 2015 to cancer. I still refuse to use a pallet jack, she forbid me to after I pinned her into a wall with a pallet of water haha. She was not hurt and laughed about it but said “No More pallet jacks for you Meta Jo!” I also ask myself during hard situations, “How would Ms Betty Handle this?” This Store was a HUGE part of her life and she honestly helped shape things here. As they say if it isn’t broken don’t fix it!

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Keep your chin up! When you think things are falling apart…. they are really falling into place.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely! I am me in every aspect of my life. Being fake will get you nowhere. I am proud of the woman I have become. I have made mistakes,but I choose to learn from them instead of letting them bring me down or define me.. I try to teach all of our employees this, we all make mistakes along the way. I tell my kids to stop looking into the rear view mirror. We are not going back there and let’s look forward!

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
When I first went to a workshop with Nourish Colorado. I learned so much and saw what our store could do for the future. I was bouncing in my seat and talking so fast due to excitement to tell the board what I had learned and how it could really help our store. The Shareholder meeting was the same month. I made a slide show and big presentation about the LoProCo. I finally just let the slides keep playing in a loop because they couldn’t keep up with me! My excitement just could not be contained at the idea of having Colorado produce and meats offered in our store. Through these workshops I met so many amazing people and learned how to make it work for us. That was almost 2 years ago and we not only have new equipment thanks to grants , we also ere able to start really moving with our Healthier Grab and Go!

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