The Final Goodbye from Omega Sports on May 31, 2023
After 45 years of business, we are closing our final door today. Thank you, Greensboro for so many years of support.
Today, May 31, 2023, at 5pm, Omega Sports rang up its final customer. It’s safe to say that without Greensboro’s love and support, we would have never had the run we did.
It’s been a wild, but amazing run.
What started out as a couple of friends joining forces to start a sports store, turned into a popular and safe place for generations of families to shop.
At its height, Omega Sports operated up to 19 stores in some of the most active sports markets throughout North Carolina. No matter where you went, you could hear the iconic Omega Sports jingle on the radio and saw advertisements for new arrivals in stores.
We served as a call-to-action for thousands of families that another youth sports season was beginning.
Do you remember when Back to School and holiday shopping meant grabbing the kiddos and/or heading out with your parents to your nearest neighborhood sports store?
When it was time to gear up, you went to Omega Sports.
Omega Sports’ blend of friendly neighborly-focused service and expertise were born from our roots here in Greensboro. For this, we will be forever grateful.
Thank you
We want to take a moment to thank our talented Greensboro team.
Starting with Greensboro Store Manager, Tom Wentz. Tom started his Omega Sports career at the Battleground store nearly 10 years ago. Through his tenure, Tom took on store management roles throughout the Triad and beyond before returning to Greensboro after the pandemic.
There’s not a challenge Tom didn’t accept. He regularly volunteered to help support events all over the state. He helped lead, test, and set the pace for new foot-scanning technology in our stores. Most importantly, he recruited and trained young talent.
When not coaching Grimsley Whirlies or backpacking through NC trails, Tom partnered with local running groups and ambassadors to grow our connection with the Greensboro running community.
Greensboro leader, Rick Cranford, is Omega Sports’ most tenured store leader. Rick has been a friendly expert in the Triad for more than 3-decades of service.
His calm and cool manner made working fun and shopping easy. Beloved by many, Rick has been a trusted mentor for other leaders and team members.
Our Greensboro team includes many that have come through here for employment and advancement.
Thank you to the final team members that helped us over the last few months of closure.
Cameron Barnes
Kaitlin Boals
Braxton Boykin
Braeden Dloniak
Zara Duncan
Paige Evans
John Hitchcock
Sarah Hosseinzadeh
Ethan Long
David Newnam
Emily Phillips
Kent Ridenhour
Coit Slack
Tyler Smouse
Ryan Stephens
Diane Urban
Hailee Wright
As we say goodbye, here are some of our office team that helped make Omega Sports run.
Elliot Saatzer, Ecommerce and IT Support. Elliot hit 10 years with Omega Sports this year. He started in the warehouse and was successfully promoted to critical roles to help Omega Sports grow and stay afloat.
Shari Hightower has pretty much been with Omega Sports from the start. From accounts payable to Head of Finance, Shari’s influence and leadership served as the backbone to the organization. And a backbone, she definitely had!
Her no-nonsense direct influence is perfectly paired with her overwhelming kindness for her co-workers. Every single employee at Omega Sports has been supported and guided by Shari. Her impact helped us all be better at our jobs.
David McLaughlin, Accounts Payable & Receiving Coordinator, has served as a quiet force behind the scenes for 10 years. A rocker at night, by daytime David diligently processed and led important initiatives for the company involving inventory, receivables, billing, and more.
Natalie Reitter, E-commerce and Customer Support Manager, accelerated successfully during her nearly 10 years at Omega Sports. Starting in Winston-Salem, she became half of the infamous Greensboro Dynamic Duo with Omega Sports Legend, Cleo Faucette . She and Cleo managed Greensboro to high levels of success making it the #1 store in all of Omega Sports.
Natalie took on e-commerce toward the end of the pandemic and helped expand inventory and sales by 180%. Her willingness to take on any task will always be appreciated.
Mark Caudle, Sports Buyer joined Omega Sports during his college days. For nearly 30 years, he’s served in a number of capacities from Store Leader, Regional Leader, and Sport and Apparel Buyer.
A former college athlete and now a father of two young athletes, Mark knows firsthand the importance Omega Sports played with helping young people fall in love with sports and stay safely geared up.
If you see how much his kids love him and how much they love sports, then you understand why this work mattered so much to him.
John Geer, Sports Accessories Buyer and beloved former Buyer, Doug Henderson.
Dr. Geer’s impact to customers may not be easily assumed, but we assure you if we’ve ever helped prevent an injury, reduced risks while being active, or helped with your recovery, then John can be thanked.
From the best orthotics, socks, braces, and sports equipment, to nutrition and recovery aides, John’s leadership added value to every interaction with customers.
Laura Hochstein, Payroll & HR. A longtime member of Junction 311, Laura crossed the race series lines and joined us recently. From the start, she helped streamline and add new influence to improve processes.
Laura worked closely with all employees during the day and night or on the weekends to make sure payroll was done accurately and completely. She always followed up and made sure employees had everything they needed and answered.
Make sure to continue to run those series races! Laura is counting on you!
Dave Herman, President & COO and leaders Todd Shields and Wendy Tucker.
Dave joined the company in the winter of 2021. He says he immediately fell in love with Omega Sports’ culture and boasted that in his 40 years in retail he’s never experienced such a loving and hard working team.
That said, there was quite a hill to climb (or hole to dig out) of, but Dave took on his leadership with a focus on building improved processes and implementing industry standard tools to help everyone do their best at what they’re great at.
At the end, he and his team of leaders helped navigate the closing procedures as best as possible. Taking care of the employees as best as possible.
Once again, thank you most of all to our customers.
Thank you. We’ll see you running around.