Strong competition from national chains, increased prices from wholesalers and low margins left many families and independently-owned businesses with boarded windows. Determined to succeed against the competition, 34 independent retailers and Donald P. Lloyd, the then president of the Utah Grocers Association, joined together to combine their buying power and open a warehouse, leading to the birth of AFS. We display an internal fire, excitement, initiative, humble confidence, and desire to win. We are driven, resilient, positive, and look for innovative, win-win solutions. We display enthusiasm and enjoy work, achievement, random acts of kindness, and building friendships. We display dependability, responsibility, and ownership in success and mistakes. We have a sense of obligation and seek opportunities to improve. We display honesty, transparency, trust, character, and ethics. We display respect, good communication, and a commitment to commonly held goals and standards. We display empathy, compassion, and desire for the success of others. We are genuine, loving, and sincere.