Wood Village Walmart celebrates renovations that create easier, more expansive shopping
Published 10:27 am Friday, May 9, 2025
Wood Village Walmart celebrated a rennovation ribbon cutting Friday morning, May 9. (Staff photo: Christopher Keizur)
Families of the Wood Village Walmart employees who hail from the Chuuk Islands, in Micronesia, did a dance. (Staff photo: Christopher Keizur)
The Gresham VFW Post 180 presented the colors during Wood Village Walmart's rennovation ribbon cutting. (Staff photo: Christopher Keizur)
Curly the Camel visited Wood Village to celebrate Walmart's ribbon cutting. (Staff photo: Christopher Keizur)
Walmart Wood Village presented checks to nonprofit organizations during the Friday, May 9, ribbon cutting. (Staff photo: Christopher Keizur)
They cheered and stomped; marveled at magic tricks and cultural dances; and took selfies with an enormous camel named Curly.
The Wood Village Walmart team had an outpouring of joy Friday morning, May 9, to commemorate the end of a 16-week renovation that has brought exciting new changes to the massive store, 23500 N.E. Sandy Boulevard.
“What an exciting moment this is — our associates make up the very fabric of this community,” said Shawn Sebastinelli, store manager. “We are creating not just a better store, but a stronger community.”
The store added more self-checkout and manned registers; improved the pickup, delivery and “Express Delivery” processes; a new vision center, upgraded bathrooms, LED lighting throughout the store; a refreshed “Mothers’ Room;” and expansion of merchandise across all departments. They also unveiled a new mural within the store.
“We listened to our customers to make this store faster and better for everyone who comes in those doors,” Sebastinelli said.
The Gresham Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 180 began the ceremony with the presentation of the colors as a Walmart associate sang the National Anthem. There were speeches thanking the many people involved in making the renovation happen, as well as awards given to various team members at the Wood Village store.
In the parking lot was a sprawling fair with partner organizations helming booths, free giveaways featuring some of the things that can be bought at Walmart, and a petting zoo.
Many of the employees at the Wood Village Walmart hail from the Chuuk Islands, in Micronesia, so their daughters performed a traditional dance during the ceremony.
“It’s amazing to see the growth not just of this store, but the entire city,” said Wood Village Mayor Jairo Rios-Campos. “Thank you to Walmart for investing in this community.”
Walmart presented a series of checks during the event. The store gave $500 to Holiday Hope; $500 to OHSU; $600 to The Shadow Project; and $28,500 to Junior Achievement USA.
