Bob Slone

  Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
October 10, 2009

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Bob Slone is Chairman of Foodtown Supermarkets of KY, Inc., a five store grocery chain in Central and Eastern Kentucky. Bob began working in the grocery business at age 8 when he sorted bottles in the family store in Jackson, KY. At 10, he helped unload trucks and stocked shelves. He bought his first store on South Broadway in Lexington in 1960. Over the years, he has operated many stores in several cities in Central and Eastern Kentucky.

After graduating from Henry Clay High School in Lexington he attended the University of Kentucky where he earned a B.S. in Business Management in 1959. He was elected chairman of the Kentucky Retail Grocers Association from 1979 to 1981 and was named Kentucky Grocer of the Year in 1981.

When the Kentucky Wholesale Grocers Association and the Kentucky Retail Grocers Association decided to merge and form today’s KGA, Bob played a pivotal role in the merger and transition. He was also instrumental in forming the Kentucky Grocers Educations Foundation (KGEF) – a non-profit organization dedicated to providing college scholarships to the children of those involved in retail food industry.

Bob is also recognized for leadership in changing the independent retail food store industry. His innovative initiatives into upscale deli operations and food service set new standards for customer service & convenience that other retailers soon emulated.

Charitable and philanthropic organizations in Central Kentucky have always been important to Bob and he has served such groups as Kentucky Technologies, Inc., Kentucky Governor’s Scholars, Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Central Kentucky United Way, Lexington Opera House Foundation and the University of Kentucky Business School Advisory Board.

Bob is married to Mary Ellen and has two children, Diane Slone of Hartford, CT, and Laura Slone Newsome of Lexington, KY, and one step daughter, Julie Reed of Lexington, KY. Bob has five grandchildren, Virginia and Drew Newsome of Lexington, KY, Kendall and Marshall Burger of Lexington, KY, and Mary Chun Slone of Hartford, CT. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and traveling.