Washington native joins Hy-Vee Hall of Fame

Washington native Matt Beenblossom has been named to the Hy-Vee Hall of Fame.

Beenblossom, vice president of distribution at Hy-Vee’s Chariton distribution center, was inducted as the 2021 Vice President of the Year at the company’s annual stockholders meeting in December.

Hy-Vee Executive Vice President Matt Ludwig pointed to Beenblossom’s strong leadership and commitment to employees as key reasons for his being named to the Hy-Vee Hall of Fame.

“Leading our Chariton distribution facilities, Matt navigated COVID-19, a tight labor market, growing volume and facilities that are above capacity with high levels of energy and passion,” said Ludwig. “Despite all of the challenges he faced this last year, Matt’s focus is always on his crew and on providing great service to our retail stores.”

Beenblossom’s career began as part-time clerk and cashier between the Washington and Mt. Pleasant Hy-Vee stores throughout high school. He also worked at the East Euclid store and Osceola stores until 1995.

After briefly pursuing other opportunities, he returned to the Washington Hy-Vee as a full-time kitchen manager in 2001. In 2004, he joined the Noland Road store in Independence, Missouri, and worked as manager of general merchandise, manager of store operations and manager of perishables.

He joined the West Des Moines corporate office as a food service supervisor in 2009, and in 2012, was promoted to assistant vice president of general merchandise.

In 2014, he rejoined the food service team as assistant vice president of retail food service and in 2014, was promoted to group vice president of retail food service.

Later that year, he transitioned to group vice president of food service and restaurant development. In 2016, he was promoted to vice president of distribution for the Chariton Distribution Center.

Beenblossom graduated from Washington High School in Washington. He furthered his education at Iowa Wesleyan College, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting.

He is married to Karlyn and they are parents of three daughters: Megan (Jessie), Tia and Taryn.

Beenblossom first joined the Hy-Vee Hall of Fame in 2012 as Retail Supervisor of the Year.