I have a date in cell b6 (format is custom m/d/yyyy) input value is 08/23/08

In column E18, I have a formula "b6-5" (format is custom m/d;@), the purpose
of this is that the b6 date is a week ending date and e18 is the actual day
of the week.
Output value is 08/18

In cell a125, I am trying to get 08/18 to display as part of a sentence
using the following string "="that during the payroll period commencing on
"&$E$18", but what I get is this

that during the payroll period commencing on 39606

What I would like to see is this

that during the payroll period commencing on 08/18

I know that there is something wrong with my string, but I am not sure how
to correct it, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you