Meet Our District Managers: Finding Balance and Driving for Results

Bob (DM for our Delaware District) has been with Harbor Freight for almost 13 years. Initially, Bob was hesitant to join Harbor Freight – he was comfortable with the track record he had made for himself as a DM for a big box hardware retailer for many years. However, when hearing the promise of growth and development that Harbor Freight had to offer, was able to make the switch and adjusted to the #HarborFreightHappy life he has today!

I have not only enjoyed my work but the balance I have been afforded to enjoy my family time. With 7 children and 9 grandchildren, I missed a lot of quality time with my children growing up working in big box retail…[I’m] now enjoying time with my grandchildren and with hobbies I love.

His favorite part of the journey so far is being able to see how far we’ve come – he started his journey with only 350 Harbor Freight stores nationwide, and now that we’ve recently celebrated opening our 1500^th store opening, he’s thrilled to have come along for the ride.

Lisa (DM for our Virginia Central District) joined Harbor Freight in June of 2022. When she first started, she already had over 30 years of experience in the retail industry, and 15 of those years were spent as a DM. One of the reasons she sought change? Her heavy workload and long hours meant that she was constantly struggling to balance her work and family life.

Now that’s she’s close to celebrating her 2-year anniversary, Lisa reflects on why Harbor Freight was the best choice she made for herself and for her family.

I have improved my work life balance and can spend quality time with my grandkids, attend church every week and take family vacations. Time is priceless so I’m spending it wisely.

Lenroy started his career at Harbor Freight as a Store Manager in 2018, where he was quickly promoted to Senior Store Manager and is now an accomplished District Manager leading the Pennsylvania South district. Lenroy attributes his success to his people-first mindset, because it allowed him to build trust with his team. Lenroy is a firm believer in constantly empowering, coaching, and recognizing his team members, because it was also the same approach his leaders had over the course of his career path.

In his own words, Lenroy describes the culture within his team to be agile, collaborative, and inclusive.

When asked his favorite part about being on the Harbor Freight team as a DM and as a working parent, Lenroy shares…

[I love] being able to have a great work life balance to spend more time with my kids and be more involved with their life events…[and] having the ability to lead with agility by getting to know my people and understanding what motivates and drives them.

Sam (DM for our Pennsylvania North District) started his journey at Harbor Freight in 2019. Over the past 5 years, he was promoted multiple times – first starting as a Store Manager in Training, then moving on to Store Manager and Senior Store Manager positions. In January of 2023, he was promoted to be Pennsylvania North’s DM, where he is today. Fun fact: a significant number of our District Managers started out as Store Managers, which Sam believes “speaks to our culture of growth, development, and opportunity.”

As a working parent, Sam was given the trust and flexibility to manage his own schedule when he temporarily lived over 600 miles away from family. Because of this, he was able to attend every one of his children’s school events. To this day, he remains committed to having date nights with his daughters every week.

When it comes to his career at Harbor Freight, Sam shares:

I’m working for one of those businesses you read about in leadership books. We are constantly challenged to be the best version of ourselves and given tools and support to reach our potential. We don’t just want to be an employer of choice, we want to be THE employer of choice.