For residents of the village of Velikiye Nemki, Galina Yemelyanova, the manager of store No. 60 of the Gomel Central Market trading unit, has long become a local favorite. For almost forty years she has been devoted to her beloved profession, and the local store under her leadership has turned into a real center of warmth and hospitality.

Galina Ivanovna’s parents were lifelong residents of Velikiye Nemki. Their entire lives were connected to the local state farm: her father worked as a driver delivering fuel, while her mother worked in the field brigade and on the farm. From childhood, Galina was a main helper: she knew how to weed garden beds, milk cows, and, together with her mother, gather and bind flax into sheaves.

Galina Yemelyanova’s love for trade emerged in early childhood thanks to a neighbor who worked as a salesperson. Every time her mother sent little Galya on an errand, she would run as fast as she could to the store with one goal—to arrive in time for the delivery and help receive the fresh bread. After school, she purposefully graduated from the Gomel Trade School. She worked for about a year in the regional center, in a store near the "Kristall" factory, but after marriage, she immediately returned to her hometown.

Her work path in Velikiye Nemki began in 1985 in the local general goods store—her son was only six months old at the time. Later, when the state farm opened a grocery store, Galina Ivanovna transferred there: the food products group was always closer to her specialty.

She has worked in store No. 60 for about 17 years. Even during her vacation, the manager says, her heart aches for her beloved work and for the local residents—the village is large, and Galina Ivanovna always strives to provide her fellow villagers with everything they need. Over the years, this store has become her second home. Together with the cleaner, they have landscaped the area themselves: in summer, the entire outbuilding at the entrance and their self-made flowerbed-ice rinks are awash in color. When asked about the difficulties of the profession, Galina Ivanovna answers with a smile: "When you love your work, the work loves you back." For many years of impeccable and conscientious labor, on the professional holiday—Trade Workers' Day—last year, the woman was honored with an award: she was ceremoniously presented with a diploma by the branch director, Mikhail Asmykovich.

Customers in the village of Velikiye Nemki are mostly of pension age, and Galina Ivanovna finds a special approach to each of them. For her, they are not just clients, but dear people. It is important for the elderly villagers to be given time: to greet them, show the assortment, and recommend fresh dairy or meat products. The locals trust the taste of their seller, and in return, Galina Yemelyanova regularly hears sincere words of gratitude.

Care for the local residents goes far beyond the counter. If lonely people cannot walk to the store themselves, they call Galina Ivanovna directly. The seller never refuses: she gathers the necessary products into bags and delivers them to the recipients during her lunch break or passes them on with responsive fellow villagers.

The whole life of our heroine is filled with hard work. Previously, together with her late husband, they kept a cow, a horse, and three pigs. Now the farm is a bit smaller, but the woman cannot sit idle: among her cares are a vegetable garden, a piglet, and 25 chickens. Nature remains the main solace and place of rest for Galina Ivanovna. Every Monday, on her only day off, she goes to the forest, which begins right behind the village. Quiet foraging, as well as walks by the river, give her a powerful charge of energy and true pleasure.