Running a general store means juggling many tasks at once—tracking inventory, running a cash register, posting on social media, and greeting customers as they walk in the door.

For Jack Garvin—who has worked at the Warren Store in Warren, Vermont, for nearly 40 years—it’s also meant being an active community member, making lifelong friends, meeting a celebrity or two, and learning how to outgrow his previously shy nature and become a more outgoing individual.