A COMMUNITY liaiser at Asda in Worcester is to travel to America on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to represent the branch at Walmart’s annual shareholder’s conference.

John Horsley, who works for the company as a community life champion, is one of only a handful of Asda store colleagues selected to attend the conference in recognition of going the extra mile during his four years working for the store. On the trip, he will have the opportunity to meet fellow colleagues from all around the globe, learning about different cultures and networking with teams from countries including India, China and Canada.

In the past famous faces likes Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise and Miley Cyrus have previously attended the annual event, which takes place at Walmart’s home office headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Mr Horsley said: "“I couldn’t believe it when I found out that I’d been nominated to attend this year’s Walmart Shareholders’ conference to represent Asda and my local area. I’m very excited about going to the USA and I can’t wait to meet some of my international colleagues. I’m proud to work for Asda and of my achievements.”

Rachel Stokes, store manager at Asda Worcester, added: “John is a fantastic example to us all and this brilliant opportunity is a well-deserved reward in recognition of his achievements over the last four years. The conference is a great introduction to new cultures and colleagues from the Walmart family from across the globe. Everyone in store is really proud that John was selected out of 170,000 colleagues to attend this year.”

Bentonville has been the home of the global retail giant since 1950, when entrepreneur Sam Walton purchased a store on the town square and re-named it Walton's Five and Dime – the first Walmart store, it is now famous across the world, with Walmart now the world’s largest retailer, employing 2.2 million people in 11,000 stores globally.