ROCKY MOUNT, Va.- – After a Kroger employee found a lost wedding ring for one of her customers in Rocky Mount, a business owner in the same shopping center decided he wanted to "pay it forward" and surprise the employee with her own special gift.
A brand new ring is bringing everything full circle.
Mike Carter, president of Carter's Jewelers, surprised Kelly Taylor, a supervisor at Kroger.
"We just felt like this will be something nice for Kelly. She probably needs to buy gifts for her family so this will be a surprise gift for her," said Carter.
Nancy Lamkin lost her wedding ring while shopping at Kroger in September. Kelly searched for weeks until she found the ring in a candy box next to the checkout register.
Carter said, when he saw the 10 News story last week, he wanted to do something special.
Taylor said says she had no idea of this surprise.
"I'm very surprised. I love my ring. My husband is going to say, 'Where'd you get that ring from?," she said.
Lamkin called Taylor her friend and said she deserves this surprise.
"I'm very happy for her. She deserves it if anybody does," said Lamkin.
And Carter's Jeweler didn't forget a surprise for Nancy. She was given a Willow Tree figurine.
"It's so sweet. I collect those and I'm sure he doesn't know that. So that's another I can add to my collection," said Lamkin.
Kroger also gave Taylor a set of flowers for putting customers first and Lamkin a set of flowers for being a great customer.
Kroger and Carter's Jeweler said this surprise was also about making sure good things that happen in the community don't go unnoticed.