Person of the Week: Arden grocery bagger lifts spirits by being 'all-around nice guy'

ARDEN, N.C. (WLOS) — At the supermarket, most of us tend to tune out the barrage of background sounds. But at the Ingles on Long Shoals Road, uncommon courtesy cuts through the noise.

"How are you doing, bud?" Dean Vess asked a customer. "How are you doing today?"

The familiar bagger is our Person of the Week.

"Should be nice to everybody," Vess stressed. "I mean, you've got to be nice in this world. So many people are mean lately."

"Dino baby!" co-worker Wendy Bastin said.

Her name for Vess was inspired by late entertainer Dean Martin.

"Well, there's some people that want him paged, because they won't take any other clerk to carry their groceries out," Bastin said. "He's their favorite. "

"But I know him by his face. He's always got a smile on it!" customer Louellen Cole said.

News 13's own Holly Headrick nominated Dean for Person of the Week.

"I love Holly, she's a good person," Vess said when he heard the news.

"Dean's one of those faces you look for when you go into the store," Holly told us. "He's there not only as an employee, but as a friend. He doesn't just ask you about how your day is. He asks you, about your friends, your kids, your husband, and wants to know about them. He's just really invested."

Regulars learn to love him as more than a bagger.

His passion for baseball might explain why Vess is such a great team player at work. He's been an Asheville Tourists' season ticket holder for 37 years.

He's thrown the first pitch at multiple games. Along the way, he befriended News 13 sports anchor Chris Womack.

"He's one of my buddies, I love him to death," Vess said.

That's the kind of sweet sincerity that's made Vess such a store favorite.

"He is spreading joy," his colleague Bastin said. "In other words, when people come in here and they're frustrated or upset, he can lift their spirit just by showing kindness, and I think it makes a huge difference."

"Yes, I agree with her," Vess said.

More than one colleague described him as an all-around nice guy.

His kind of kindness makes everyone around him feel better.

"Yeah, it keeps me going. Keeps me young!" Vess said.