Pharmacy motivates people to vote and rewards with ice cream

Ice cream and politics! How does that sound? It was all sweets and treats at the Teton Pharmacy in Idaho Falls. The pharmacy was sweetening things up by motivating others to go out and vote and rewarding them with free ice cream. The owner even opened the pharmacy an hour late and plans to close it an hour early, just so its employees can go vote. It is a way for people to be able to let their voice be heard, the operations manager said. “After talking to our employees here, a lot of them have never voted. We’re a small business, here in Idaho Falls, and we want to make sure that small businesses have adequate representation today,” Trent Tomita said. More than a dozen people came in during the first 30 minutes of the pharmacy being open, Tomita said. He loves it because it is great for business but also a way for people to express themselves. “It’s kind of a little perk for people to go and vote. Whoever goes and votes and comes in with their “I Voted” sticker gets free ice cream. Get people in our doors and people out voting,” Tomita said. It is a great decision, head pharmacist Ben Shay said. “It’s difficult for pharmacists too I can’t leave here without closing the pharmacy. So, for me to vote, we have to be closed, so opening an hour later today, allowed me the opportunity to go and vote. Even if you don’t think your vote counts, it does, and you know people sacrificed a lot so we could all have the right to vote,” Shay said. “I voted because it’s my civic duty. I feel it’s like really important and that we need to get young people out there and keep track of the issues and make sure that our voices are heard. I didn’t know about the ice cream but I’m really excited that I got to come in,” voter Melissa Keating said. The pharmacy closes at 6 p.m. Tuesday. It plans to do this for the next election.