When Kevin Iverson isn't crisscrossing the country for work, you'll likely find him at home tending a garden, raising chickens, and looking after a small flock of turkeys. It's a quieter kind of growth, but it says a lot about him: Kevin is someone who loves to build things and watch them thrive, whether that's a backyard garden or a team of leaders spread across two zones.

And building things is exactly what he's spent his career doing.

20 States and Loving Every Mile

Kevin started at Family Dollar as a District Manager in Columbus, Ohio. About 16 months later, he moved into a Regional Training Manager role. By June 2026, he was named Zone Training Director, now supporting two zones and 10 Regional Training Managers across the country.

This year, Kevin has already logged more than 50,000 miles and worked in or traveled through 20 different states. During our conversation, he mentioned that yesterday alone took him through the Boot Heel of Missouri, across Arkansas, and into Oklahoma, 560 miles in a single day.

For most people, that might sound exhausting. For Kevin, it's the best part of the job.

"Travel is heavy in this role," Kevin says. "We’re road warriors."

If you love the open road, new towns, new faces, and the feeling of never quite knowing what state you'll wake up in next, this is a career built for you. Kevin has worked in all four U.S. time zones over the course of this career, moved 14 times, and says traveling is one of the coolest parts of the job.

"I love meeting and talking to people everywhere," he says. " Whether it's in a restaurant, a gas station, or our store associates, I enjoy crossing paths with different people and learning from their perspectives."

A Career That Refused to Stay in One Lane

Before Family Dollar, Kevin's resume reads like a tour of retail itself: Blockbuster, Target, Dollar General, and stops in all four U.S. time zones. When I asked him what’s different about working at Family Dollar he said it is the freedom to grow in more than one direction.

"Family Dollar allows you to explore more than a single track," Kevin explains. "I started in Operations, then moved to training, then zone training director. The fact that Family Dollar doesn't keep you linear in the same role, and allows you to explore other areas, is truly unique."

Adventure, By Definition

Something else Kevin holds close is the people he gets to work alongside every day. Ask him what adventure looks like in this career, and he doesn't hesitate. He points to an example of a time he was working with the team to launch three store openings during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's week, back to back to back.

"On paper, it didn't seem possible," he says. "But we did it. We made it happen as a team." The kind of dedication and teamwork Kevin experienced to get the job done is something he hasn’t found anywhere else.

The Advice He'd Give to Someone Just Starting Out

Kevin's advice for anyone considering a long term career at Family Dollar is simple: be curious.

"Ask as many questions as you want. If you're thinking it, someone else has thought it. Also, learn the business from the floor up, rather than rushing straight into your assigned leadership role. Give yourself time to learn and absorb everything along the way. That foundation will make you a stronger leader down the road." he says.

He's also quick to point out that changing direction along the way isn't a setback, it's part of the design.

"You're allowed to change your mind here and move into a different space."

The Nicholson Question

When we asked Kevin to describe himself, he didn't reach for a title or a mileage count. He referenced a scene straight out of Anger Management, the one where Jack Nicholson keeps pressing Adam Sandler to answer who he really is, past the surface, past the small talk.

"I'm a people driven person above all else," Kevin says. "I want to know how I can help someone achieve what their hopes and dreams are. That is what fuels me every day. I want to find out where they want to go and help them achieve it.

It's a mindset he traces back to someone who once gave him that same chance.

"Someone believed in me and gave me that shot a long time ago and explained the impact of taking care of people."

Twenty states, 50,000 miles, and a flock of turkeys later, Kevin is still paying that forward, one store, one leader, one road trip at a time.