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FBS Member News 12 Look, Listen, Read
MEMBER NEWS
BWW Employee Honored for Saving a Customer’s Life
Stephanie 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 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
Bobby Pancake and Stephanie GrahamPowell shake hands after she receives a Pancake Coin.
BWW Franchisee Recognizes Employees by Holding First Awards Ceremony
Smiling 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
MEMBER NEWS
BWW Franchisee Scored Funds for Local Hockey Event
Two Joe’s Inc., a Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee in Mankato, Minnesota, scored big for the annual Hockey Day Minnesota celebration.
Started in 2007 by the Minnesota Wild professional ice hockey team, Hockey Day was created to celebrate Minnesota’s official sport. It is produced in partnership with Bally Sports North, the Wild and the local community chosen as the host each year. In 2022, Blakeslee Field, located in Mankato, was the chosen venue to host this event. With the help of the local organizing committee, the single-day event turned into a weeklong celebration for hockey lovers of all ages.
Two Joe’s Inc. franchisees Joe Frederick Sr. and Joe Frederick Jr. provided Hockey Day Minnesota with supplies for five different food-andbeverage stations. Using their passion for the sport as drive, the father-son duo knew that they wanted to give back to the community.
“We have always been directly connected to sports in the Mankato community and with my personal family connection to hockey, we knew we wanted to be highly involved in Hockey Day,” Joe Frederick Jr. said.
The Fredericks delivered on their wishes to serve the community beer and wings. Over five days of operation, a team of volunteers served 833 cases of beer and over 5,000 boneless wings to 22,000 Hockey Day attendees, earning over $35,000 in profit that all went back to Hockey Day Minnesota.
“BWW Mankato has a long-standing reputation for being community focused and is always one of the first businesses in town to step up to the plate to support areawide initiatives,” said Lindsay Botker, a member of the Hockey Day Minnesota executive committee. “The Frederick family, in partnership with Jen McCabe, business and marketing manager of BWW Mankato and Hutchinson, really understood what Hockey Day Minnesota Mankato’s mission and vision was. Not only were they instrumental in the execution of that vision, but the Hockey Day Minnesota Mankato fund was also the benefactor of their large charitable donation, which will be used to continue to grow the game of hockey in our community.”
The Fredericks will be monumental in helping communities in Minnesota enjoy Hockey Days for years to come. S
ABuffalo Wild Wings® sports bar, owned by Four M Franchising, helped continue a young girl’s passion for making the world a more colorful place.
On Saturday, May 21, sports bar No. 3431, located in Danbury, Connecticut, hosted a packing party for Chelsea’s Charity, a nonprofit devoted to giving art supplies to those in need. With the help of students at Henry Abbott Technical High School and the staff of BWW® and Chelsea’s Charity, the team managed to pack 200 art kits in less than 30 minutes.
The packing party was an event that gathered volunteers to assist 12-year-old Chelsea Phaire in filling drawstring bags with enough art supplies to satisfy artists of any skill level. With supplies donated by a local STAPLES, the team packed the kits in an assembly line. The event was featured on NBC’s national Nightly News Kid’s Edition, and BWW fed those involved.
The partnership between BWW and Chelsea’s Charity started with General Manager Andrea Figueroa’s desire to get involved in the community. Figueroa built upon the relationship with Chelsea’s Charity that her predecessor, Shona Burgiere, established. After meeting with Chelsea and her family, Figueroa sought to plan the packing party at her sports bar.
“I was just blown away by this little girl and her family and all of the little things they do to help people out,” Figueroa said.
Chelsea has loved art as a way of expression for as long as she can remember. The nonprofit started when Chelsea declined gifts for her 10th birthday. Rather, she asked her guests to bring art supplies to donate to children less fortunate than her. Her nonprofit creates art kits to give to places such as foster homes, homeless shelters, veterans hospitals and more.
The packing party was a successful event filled with smiles and joy. The BWW plans to continue its relationship with Chelsea’s Charity with more events in the future. S
Chelsea Phaire stands among the volunteers who made the packing party at BWW a success.
To make a contribution to Chelsea’s Charity, visit: https://client.customdonations.com/ securepay/chelseascharity/
