Tebow in town

Former Gator quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player Tim Tebow signs an autograph at a meet and greet session Jan. 28 at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Maricamp Road at Southeast 36th Avenue. [Photo by Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]

Ocala’s newest Walmart Neighborhood Market opened with a daylong celebration that included a visit from Gator great and former NFL player Tim Tebow.

The festivities kicked off around 9 a.m. Jan. 28 as an overflow crowd heard welcoming remarks from Walmart leadership and local elected officials including Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano and County Commissioner Matt McClain. The Forest High School cheerleading team was part of the festivities.

Pam and Mike Dufur of Ocala were among the first group of people to tour the new store. The couple liked the size and increased selection but didn’t like the outdoor temperatures hovering around freezing.

The new store, located in the former Winn-Dixie Supermarket building on Maricamp Road and  Southeast  36th Avenue, is touted by Walmart officials as an updated version of their neighborhood market.

The new market  offers “streamlined” shopping with wider aisles and displays of everyday needs, digital based pickup and delivery, fresh sushi, tortillas, cake decorating, fresh cut fruit, a pharmacy and eight fuel pumps, according to a Walmart press release. The operation will have 150 local employees.

Randy Wilson, who managed the former Winn-Dixie store at the same location in the late 1990s, was on hand for the opening. Wilson, a U.S. Air Force veteran, indicated the Maricamp location was always a high producing Winn-Dixie operation.

Celebrities at the opening included  “world-renowned jazz saxophonist Mike Phillips….
Gator and NFL linemen Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, along with Heisman-winning-quarterback Tim Tebow,” according to the press release.

“As part of the grand opening celebration, Walmart awarded $9,000 in community grants to local nonprofit organizations including $4,000 to the Top of the World Lions Club, $2,500 to Hopefelt Inc. and, $2,500 to the Pearl Project Inc,” the release stated.

Tebow was greeted with cheers from a crowd upwards of perhaps 500 around 3 p.m. Many in the crowd wore UF football jerseys with the number 15 in honor of Tebow.

Kaycie Brown brought along her 5-month-old dachshund, Archie, to see Tebow. She has a connection to the UF School of Nursing.

Justin Gillam, 36, was wearing a number 15 Denver Broncos jersey, reflecting Tebow’s time with that team. Gillam uses a wheelchair due to spinal bifida but sat smiling in line waiting to meet Tebow, who he considers a faithful “man of God.”

“I’d give anything to meet him,” Gillam said.