Hay River Reserve (Jan 22/07) - Warren Nekurak manages one of the focal points of community life on the Hay River Reserve - Ehdah Cho Food Town.

Nekurak knows most of the people on the reserve by name, since he doesn't just stay in his office, but is involved in the day-to-day operation of the store.

Warren Nekurak: Edah Cho Food Town manager since 2004.

It's not unusual to see him behind the till or cutting meat, he said.

As a grocery store manager, Nekurak's goal is to keep customers supplied with the goods to keep them happy and coming back.

And he relies on people to let him know what they want. "If you don't have it, your customers will tell you."

Nekurak said there is really no difference in the tastes of people on the reserve than anywhere else, except that they probably want the ingredients for bannock more than elsewhere.

Many people are attracted to the store, including visitors from other communities, because they can use status cards to save the GNWT tax on tobacco and fuel.

The store has a staff of about 10, many of them students.

"I try to employ as many band members as I can," Nekurak said, of the store owned by K'atlodeeche First Nation (KFN).

"We're teaching them basic job skills and responsibilities."

One employee is even considering attending school in Alberta to train for a career in meat-cutting.

Finding employees is the biggest challenge of his job, he said. "It's finding people willing to work in this industry and keeping them."

Another challenge is dealing with the expensive freight costs to get product to the NWT.

Nekurak, who has managed Ehdah Cho Food Town since early 2004, has worked in the grocery business since he was a teenager.

"I've never done anything else," he said.

In the early 1990s, Nekurak owned his own grocery - Warren's Food Town - in his hometown of Prince Albert, Sask., until two large chain stores opened nearby.

From 1996 to 1999, he managed a grocery store in Fort Providence, before returning to the South.

Nekurak returned North when contacted about the managerial position at Ehdah Cho.