MEMBER NEWS
BWW Employee Honored for Saving a Customer’s Life S
tephanie Graham-Powell went to work one day as a standard BWW server and left a hero. High 5 Hospitality owner Bobby Pancake awarded Graham-Powell earlier this year for saving a choking customer’s life. For her honorable act, she received the Pancake Coin – a token presented by Pancake for going above and beyond what an employee’s job description states. “There are no criteria to it,” Pancake said, “I know it when I see it.” The day of her good deed started routinely for Graham-Powell until she heard a commotion across the restaurant. She rushed to see a customer incorrectly performing the Heimlich maneuver on another customer. The man then signaled to her that he was choking, asking for her help. Using her previous experience as a medical assistant and habilitation specialist, she successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver and dislodged the boneless wing from the customer’s airway. After sitting him down, giving him water, and confirming that he was stable, she returned to work as if nothing happened.
“He thanked me a bunch of times, and I told him to stop,” Graham-Powell said. “I wanted to thank him for allowing me to save his life.” Never having previously used her emergency-response training, she felt adrenaline rushing through her body after successfully helping the victim and was grateful that she was in the right place at the right time. Graham-Powell said receiving the Pancake Coin was the utmost distinction. She was humbled by her recognition, with tears running down her face. Besides the 25% discount that she receives at any High 5 Hospitality restaurant due to the coin, she places sentimental value on it as well. She brings it into work with her every shift and refers to it as her “comfort blanket.” “Just having this coin allows me to know that in my adult life, I have done something awesome,” Graham-Powell said. “It makes me feel valued and appreciated.” Graham-Powell’s key takeaway from the situation is to keep an open eye on
Bobby Pancake and Stephanie GrahamPowell shake hands after she receives a Pancake Coin.
the environment and to always be ready to assist someone in need. “Pay attention,” she said. “You’ll never know if someone needs your help. Every second counts.” High 5 Hospitality plans to add training for emergency situations like the one encountered by Graham-Powell. Pancake hopes to have a few people in each restaurant know CPR and all to have active shooter preparedness training. S
BWW Franchisee Recognizes Employees by Holding First Awards Ceremony S
2022 Issue 2
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miling faces. This is what Four M Franchising President and CEO Jim Bitzonis recalled fondly from rewarding his employees for their contributions to Buffalo Wild Wings®. On April 7, Bitzonis, along with Chief Operations Officer Joe Lichwick and Director of Operations Jean-Paul Parnizari, awarded outstanding employees at Four M’s first-ever award luncheon. Held at Blackstone’s Steakhouse in Stamford, Connecticut, engraved crystal awards were handed out to company leaders for a variety of honorable services to BWW®. Leaders were recognized for the “Always Connected” Community Award, the “Never Cracks Under Pressure”
Diamond Award, the “Providing A Great Environment” Best Culture Award, the “Most Valuable GM” Founder’s Award, the “Always Setting the Example” Leadership Award and the President’s Award earned by a leader for “Fierce Passion and Marvelous Talents Guiding the Company to Great Success.” The company also recognized employees for their loyalty with awards for over 10 years of service. Parnizari was honored for 15 years of service and received the coveted President’s Award. “This is long overdue. People want to feel that others understand the effort they put in to work, the sacrifices they make and that they are appreciated for the
success they achieve for what they do,” Bitzonis said. “Recognition, appreciation and validation are key components to retaining key personnel, and raises and bonuses don’t hurt.” The future for this ceremony looks bright due to the incredible reactions of joy and satisfaction the recipients displayed. Four M plans to continue the ceremony every year. “I believe we have always expressed appreciation for our employees, but never recognized them in such fashion. To see how happy everyone was to be awarded based on their success made me even happier than them,” Bitzonis said. “So, it’s nothing but a huge win-win.” S
