"It's just respect. It's a military town. It's the right thing to do."

A new sign at Parker's Your Independent Grocer on Laurentian Ave. is getting a lot of attention...and it has nothing to do with food!

It's the brainchild of Stuart Parker, the store manager, to honour the service Canadian veterans have given our country.

"I think, especially in a town like this, it's the little things," Parker told BayToday. "It's just respect. It's a military town. It's the right thing to do. To me, it's the least we can do.

"It's only one spot but we do have some veterans coming in the store. It's not like somebody asked me, it's just something I felt was lacking. It was a trial thing, to be honest, then once it went in it was like, holy....people noticed."

The sign has only been in place one week, but Parker says with all the positive feedback he'll make sure the sign is a permanent fixture. He believes it is the only one in North Bay.

Parker came up with the idea but doesn't claim credit for the graphic.

"The guys at Price signs came up with it. I told them the idea and they ran with it. They showed me the proof and I loved it right from the get-go, especially with the Canadian flag."

The bottom of the sign thanks veterans for their service. Parker believes more stores should have the sign.

"On a busy Friday they have a spot and don't have to walk across a busy parking lot. They've done enough."

And veterans have shown their appreciation.

"'Thank you' is basically the long and short of it. A lot of times you don't realize who is a veteran until something like this happens. They are having me paged by Customer Service to personally meet me and thank me."