David Heffernan has worked at the Target store in Redwood City, Calif., nearly 27 years. As a cart attendant, he makes sure to keep the carts organized, the parking lot clear and guests happy. He excels at his job, but his true passion lies in athletic competitions. 

David took swimming lessons at a young age and was encouraged to compete in Special Olympics games by a teacher at school. One competition turned into 50, and as David won race after race, his love for competing grew.

“My favorite competition was in Kilimanjaro, where we hiked all day and camped at night—it took nine days total,” David says. “I also did an around-the-world bike trip through Japan on a tandem bike—that was difficult.”

For David, there is no off-season. When he’s not swimming in the spring, he’s dribbling balls on the basketball court, playing softball or training for a race. For him, there’s always another competition to look forward to.

Most recently, David competed in the 2014 Special Olympics Northern California Games at the University of California, Davis, where he took home a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle and two gold medals in the butterfly and breaststroke. He now has more than 100 medals from Special Olympics competitions.

“David has a great attitude around anything he does, whether it’s filling the cartwell, helping with  ‘carry-outs,’ loading purchases into guests’ cars, or just talking about the last Giants game,” Jordan Jenkins, Human Resources team leader, says. “He is a phenomenal team member, and it’s been so exciting to learn about all he does outside of Target.”

As a team member who has been there since the Redwood City store opened its doors in 1987, David knows a thing or two about how to make guests happy with their Target experience. How does he do it?

“I help them with the carry-out, I tell them to have a good day and to come back again,” David says. “I make them feel good.”

Besides helping out guests, David loves that he can infuse exercise into his daily routine at Target. “It keeps me in good shape working the carts all day, stocking up bags and doing carry-out,” he says. And his hard work does not go unnoticed.

“David is always willing to help other team members when they ask,” says Iris Omengkar, Price Accuracy team leader. “I have never heard him complain, and he shows up every day to work, rain or shine. David takes a lot of pride in what he does here at Target.”

Visit the Team Members page to learn more about how our team members bring their talent, commitment and diverse perspectives to work, making our communities and company better.

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