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Event Calendar 14 Franchisee Spotlight
MEMBER NEWS
Jones Honored for Service as FBS Vice Chairman
Former Franchise Business Services (FBS) Vice Chairman Mark Jones was honored by his fellow franchisees at the FBS membership meeting Oct. 27 at the Buffalo Wild Wings® corporate convention.
Jones, who had served as FBS vice chairman since 2014, stepped down from the role at the meeting. He was replaced by Jim Bitzonis of Four M Franchising LLC.
Jones, an attorney, joined with his brother, Mike, and other partners to become a BWW® franchisee in 2002. Their company operates 36 Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars and employs nearly 2,000 people.
At the meeting, FBS Chairman Wray Hutchinson presented Jones with an award recognizing the time and service he gave to FBS during his terms in office. Jones has been extremely involved in the planning and organization of the annual FBS Summit and helped with outside counsel on the negotiation of several legal contracts with Buffalo Wild Wings.
While no longer serving as vice chairman, Jones will remain involved in FBS.
FBS Summit
May 9-11, 2022 Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Bonita Springs, Florida
Former FBS Vice Chairman Mark Jones, left, accepts an award from FBS Chairman Wray Hutchinson during the FBS membership meeting in Las Vegas in October.
Buffalo Wild Wings in Sioux Falls Holds Fundraiser for Team Member in Car Crash
Tragedy struck the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, B-Dubs® family on May 8. Three team members were involved in a devastating car crash. Javier Velasquez, 17, and Pascal Niyonkuru, 20, lost their lives on the scene. Gia Elumbaring and her boyfriend at the time sustained life-threatening injuries. Both Buffalo Wild Wings® and the community have rallied to support her recovery.
“As a leader, honestly, I had to take a moment. In one ride home, our B-Dubs family had changed. We lost two members and had another sustain serious injury. Right away we needed to take care of the staff and address that this was going to be something huge. I’d worked with Javi and Pascal for two years and Gia for months, and I have two kids at home. Thinking about their lives cut so short and Gia’s changed so drastically, I needed to make sure I could get the staff where they needed to be,” General Manager Randy Peterson said.
Franchise owners Todd and Susan LaHaise supported their Sioux Falls team members. They did some immediate things for the victims’ families and planned to do something big for Gia once she began to recover. Gia underwent multiple surgeries and extensive physical therapy while looking forward to her senior year of high school. Meanwhile, her BWW® family planned a three-day fundraiser to help her with medical expenses.
The fundraiser occurred in late August. For every boneless wing sold, 25 cents were donated to Gia. Sunday was the main event, with Games Galore providing inflatables for the kids. Washington High School students supported their classmate by supervising the games. Local rock/country cover band Eclipse performed a small outdoor concert, and Big Country 92.5 FM broadcast live on site. About $10,000 was raised.
In 2022, LaHaise plans to honor the team members who lost their lives through a scholarship program at Washington High School.
