About Us

We do this by providing our members world-class Health Benefits, Membership Perks, Business Solutions, impactful Initiatives, and the highest level of customer service to ensure Operators have the tools they need to lead their stores with excellence.

From its humble start as a produce cooperation to now serving over 1,300 Operators nationwide, GIOA is the largest independent Operator association created by Operators for the benefit of Operators. We believe we’re better and stronger together and remain committed to faithfully upholding the principles of our shared past while forging a shared path into the future.

GIOA started as a group of Operators in Atlanta, GA in cooperation to acquire, purchase, and deliver produce. Jonathan Hollis, now President of GIOA, started and spearheaded this program. Operators quickly saw the value and power of working together through a unified process to meet specific needs that affected all Operators.

In 2020, another small group of Operators came together to meet a new need: health insurance. An even greater organization was needed and Guardian Independent Operator Association was formed under the leadership of Jonathan Hollis, Alex Vann, Randy Smith, and Justin Mize. A group of established Operators became the Board of Trustees and a trust was also formed.

Guardian Independent Operator Association (GIOA) has developed an Association Health Plan (AHP) with Anthem that is offered in all states except MD, HI, DE, NM, PR, and CA. For these selective states, what we call Affinity, we work with alternative carriers & vendors to provide healthcare solutions outside of Anthem. We currently have over 1300 Operators nationwide and growing.

A healthcare program that includes:

• Comprehensive Medical plan options for you and your family
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance up to 2 million in coverage (guaranteed issue) for yourself
• Life Insurance for your dependents
• Long-term Disability Insurance
• Supplemental coverages such as Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospitalization

A healthcare program that includes:

• Comprehensive Medical for full-time Team Members

• Limited Medical options (MEC) for part-time Team Members

• Dental & Vision for full-time and part-time Team Members

• Voluntary Life Insurance for Team Members

• Short-term Disability Insurance

• Supplemental coverages such as Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospitalization

***Benefits administration, COBRA, and ACA compliance services are included

GIOA members have access to a suite of perks: 

• HR Support through our Compliance Library and HR Expert Support

• HR Compliance Law Alert Updates for State and Federal Compliance

• Employee Handbook Builder

• Training Course Creation & Library

• Leadership Development Resources

• Subject Matter Content

• Operator Networking

• Private Community Forums

• Employee Discounts with access to a discount network of over 30,000 vendors nationwide for Team Member support and incentives