East Maitland Kmart doorman who brought smiles to thousands of faces is given a guard of honour as he ends his final shift after 18 years
Members of a local community have formed a guard of honor for a retired Kmart doorman who worked his last shift after 18 years.
A large crowd gathered outside the Stockland Green Hills store in East Maitland in the Hunter Valley region of NSW to cheer Glenn as he completed his last day of work before retirement.
The video recorded at Glenn’s farewell shows customers bursting into applause as they formed a guard of honor.
Glenn was touched by his emotional farewell as he smiled and waved to customers.
He stopped to talk to many of them and bent down to chat with young children who were there to say goodbye.
The “Surprise Clap Out” tribute was organized for Glenn on Facebook, with the caption: “The wonderful, sweet and funny man we have all grown to love who works at Kmart Green Hills is retiring.”
Glenn was touched by his emotional farewell as he smiled and waved to customers
βHe was always cheerful, a great man and he should be proud of the way he spread that to others,β read one tribute
Many Facebook users posted heartwarming tributes to Glenn.
‘He is the funny and cheerful grandpa to all the kids (who visit) at Kmart, especially my little ones love him, and my big kids love him and have great dad jokes. They wanted to skip school to go to Kmart to see him off,β one person wrote.
‘What a great turnout… even people who had no idea about it joined the rest to send Glenn away. Our family wishes Glenn a wonderful, long and fulfilling retirement,β wrote another.
‘What a beautiful farewell for a great man. To be honest, I have never encountered anyone so cheerful, friendly and kind in the shops. He will certainly be missed.β
‘He was always cheerful, a great man and he can be proud of the way he conveyed that to others.’
One Facebook user summed up the community’s love for Glenn: “He makes the world a better place just by being in it.”
Tributes on Facebook noted Glenn’s famous dad jokes.
One message read: ‘I walked out yesterday with containers and a basket. His comment was so quick and brilliant: “Now that you’re under control, you’re not going to be a head basket.”
After 18 years of bringing smiles to the East Maitland community, Glenn will now have more time to devote to his hobby: astrophotography.