DONNA KEATING

PHOTO: Wal-Mart door greeter Jimmy J. LaCarbo of Lutcher welcomes customers Michelle Swible, right, and her mother JoAnn Swible. (Staff Photo by Donna Keating) Jimmy J. LaCarbo of Lutcher, also known as “Mr. Jimmy” by his customers, is the door greeter at the LaPlace Wal-Mart. His job comes naturally to him, with his genuine love for people. LaCarbo said, “I love my job. Our customers make my day – especially the children. They are all like family to me, I’ve never met such nice people in all my life.” It’s not an uncommon site to see children running up to give him a big hug and say hello. Along with a hug, LaCarbo gives the children smiley face stickers to enjoy. He often receives warm greetings accompanied by gifts – especially around Christmas. In addition to greeting customers, he also helps handicapped customers get into the store’s wheelchair shopping carts. He takes his time, gently assisting them and doesn’t try to rush them. LaCarbo has been employ-ed as a door greeter at Wal-Mart for the past 12 years. He looks forward to doing his job and he is so dedicated he often goes into work a few hours early, just in case any of the other workers need help. Wal-Mart training co-ordinator Rose Bolden, who works in personnel, considers him a big asset to the store. “He is always happy and he also keeps our customers happy,”she said. He is the first person our customers see when they walk in the door. He never changes and he is a real people person.” Wal-Mart shopper JoAnn Swible said, “I look forward to seeing Mr. Jimmy everytime I go to Wal-Mart. Seeing him smile changes your whole attitude. I like the way he approaches people, especially the way he treats my daughter, Michelle. Mr. Jimmy has been spoiling her ever since I’ve been bringing her here. Michelle gets Icees and stickers from him. Once when she didn’t have enough money to buy what she wanted, he reached into his pocket to help her pay for it.” JoAnn’s daughter, Michelle, added, “He makes me smile and feel like I am gonna have a good day everytime I come to Wal-Mart. He’s nice and special to me and he’s always in a good mood. I think he is cool because he is so kind and treats me special. He’s nice to people all the time and I adopted him as my Uncle Jimmy.’ I’m not sure what they pay him, but to me he is priceless.”