Albertsons welcomes Drabbels to the family

Some people go to college only to find their first choice of majors wasn't what they wanted all along.

Malta native, Tanner Drabbels, found his calling in life, but unlike so many, he didn't have to over think his future. He simply hit the floor running and hasn't slowed down since.

He is the latest assistant store director at the local Albertsons.

"I pretty much just work and raise my family," said Tanner Drabbels, who may one day run the town's Albertsons.

Drabbels graduated from Malta in 2001, unlike many kids that have come and gone, Drabbels wasn't into organized sport or extracurricular clubs, he simply wanted to make it through.

He had no aspirations to perform at the collegiate level, he simply did what many people underestimate. He worked.

His career at Albertson's started after graduation, thanks in part to his friend Bobby Reed.

"I had a friend that worked here. He liked it and kept pressuring me," said Drabbels, who is a 13-year veteran at Albertsons.

He started right here in Malta as a bagger, but eventually shined and worked his way up.

One of the best things about working at a retail powerhouse like Albertsons is the job can take you places.

He left Malta in 2004, to move to Helena for a few months. Drabbels then moved to Park City, Utah for six months. Then back to Helena. Then Anaconda. Then Wolf Point. Then Cut Bank. Finally back home to Malta.

Tanner met his wife Linsey, while he lived in Anaconda in 2006.

It's the classic story of grocery manager meets cashier.

"We kind of started seeing each other and she ended up having to quit," said Drabbels, who recently married Linsey December of last year.

It was after that stint in Anaconda that Drabbels earned a spot as an assistant store director in Wolf Point in 2008.

He stayed there for two years, then Cut Bank for three.

He moved his family to Malta in June first of this year.

"The glamour of the big city life was attracting when I was younger," he told the PCN. "Now that I've got kids, I realize this is a pretty good place to raise a family."

He went on to say, he had a pretty good life here, thanks in part to his father Don Drabbels and late mother Shauna Reynolds.

"The opportunity came up and we took it," said Drabbels.

He will especially be glad he moved back because since he last lived here, a drag strip has been built.

"Everybody that knows me knows I'm into cars and stuff," said Drabbels, who just purchased a brand new 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (manual trans.).

He hasn't been able to transport the vehicle due to road construction from Cut Bank to Havre. Not a problem to a regular car, but with the body being so low, Drabbels knows, it's wiser to wait.

His love for cars started like his Albertson's career, here in Malta, where he used to take around his bright green 1973 Plymouth Roadrunner.

He is anxious about the track, however he may have to wait until next season to tear up the Hi-Line Dragstrip. If he were to dial in a time at this very moment, in the eighth of a mile race, he told the PCN it would be a 6.5, which is ridiculously fast.

Even with the wait, Drabbels has found his calling and his dream location.

He told the PCN that he loves working with and around people, He enjoys training coworkers and meeting and helping customers.

He is hopeful that one day he will take over the post for Cheryl Vogel (current Store Director), after she retires, but he doesn't want to stop there.

"I plan on hopefully becoming a district manager eventually," he said. "I do plan on sticking around here for a while."

While he works during the day, his wife Linsey will help out as cashier during some nights, when Tanner isn't on the clock. Linsey however, is currently on maternity leave, with the couples' third child.

Their eldest is Ariana, was born in 2007 and second born is Brittalia, born in 2009.

"We did the whole stay at home mom thing for a while and that didn't work out too well," he said.

While the names of the Drabbels girls are unique, both were named by Linsey, so the third's name boy or girl will be tasked to Tanner, who has no idea, what that name may be.

"She didn't let me have any input on the first two," said Drabbels.