Larry Carder has been named the new store manager at the recently expanded Walmart at 1202 S. Kirkwood Road.

Larry Carder is no newcomer to Walmart. In fact, he started working as an associate for Walmart at age 16 in his hometown of Mountain Grove, Mo. in 1976, handling carts and maintenance, and eventually worked his way up to store co-manager. After 11 years, he was transferred to Lebanon, Mo. where he served as co-manager for three and a -half years, and then moved on to Houston, Mo. for four years as manager. After a three and a–half year stretch with Kohl’s in Texas, he returned to Walmart as an assistant manager in Ft. Worth, Texas, and then was promoted to store manager in Piedmont, Mo, a position he held for seven years before transferring to Arnold, Mo. for a temporary position, then finding his eventual home store in Kirkwood

“You learn a lot in 33 years,” says Carder.  “It really helps to listen to your customers and understand every aspect of a store’s operations. My years of experience in every corner of our stores has given me a real appreciation for our associates and all they do to serve our customers. It’s a total team effort, day in and day out, especially with the recent transition to an expanded 150,000-sq.-ft. store with a full line of groceries, and more products and services.”

Carder also is getting to know his customers. “One of the first things I learned is that Kirkwood is a town of avid gardeners,” added Carden. “Just this week, we added three new associates to our Garden Center to keep up with all the activity. We are expanding our plant and flower selections, and garden and lawn products to meet the demand.”

While in Piedmont, Carder worked closely with the Missouri Department of Conservation, helping to preserve forests in and around Sam A. Baker State Park, and near Clearwater Lake, Wappapello Lake, and the St. Francis and Black Rivers. “Piedmont is close to the Ozark Natural Scenic Riverways, with The Current and Jacks Fork Rivers,” he added. “It’s one of the most beautiful parts of our state and forestry conservation is essential to preserve the pristine natural areas.”

He also was active in the Piedmont Community Betterment Association, SEE, Inc. – a Learning Disabled
Workshop, the Black River Community Betterment Association and the local Chamber,
Rotary and Optimists clubs.

“I’m looking forward to getting involved in Kirkwood civic life,” added Carder. “I just need a little time to get settled in to my new job first.

“You never know where life is going to take you,” Carder said. “Joining Walmart at age 16 was a great career decision for me, as it has been for so many of my fellow associates. I’m proud to work for Walmart where there are unlimited opportunities, and I feel privileged to be able to help bring those opportunities to our community and neighbors.”

Carder says the only challenge is finding time to see his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, who live in Tulsa, Okla. “We’ll just have to get them on a plane so they can come visit the Magic House and enjoy the Greentree Festival."

About Walmart 

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 9,600 retail units under 69 different banners in 28
countries. With fiscal year 2011 sales of $419 billion, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise
sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.