Servant Leadership: The Backbone of NFA’s 35-Year History

Thirty-five years! Wow! As we enter 2023, NFA begins a milestone year, celebrating a history rich in people, friendships, success, celebrations, and yes – challenges. I am proud to say that I have been with NFA for almost 22 of the past 35 years. Each quarter, Flame will focus on the past 35 years and celebrate the amazing history that has been created by BURGER KING® franchisees.

As I think about this significant milestone, I reflect back on so many changes since my arrival at NFA. When I began, NFA ran the annual convention, and much of NFA’s financial stability was due to the success of that annual convention. I recall attending my first convention a few months after I began with NFA. Immediately, I knew I was somewhere special. Why? Because of the franchisee community.

The original convention was planned by franchisees for the franchisee community. During these times, NFA convened a convention committee with dedicated franchisees who discussed the important topics, the best speakers, and yes, even the location for the annual event. There were professional companies who supported NFA and the committee, but the brain trust and heavy lifting was from the franchisees. As I witnessed how the franchisees stepped up to develop this annual event to benefit their peers, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of for the long-term. While the phrase was not yet coined all those years ago, what I was witnessing was “Servant Leadership.”

The NFA and BK® franchisee community has flourished over the past 35 years because of our volunteer franchisees. I have watched franchisees devote hundreds of hours helping one another. From the NFA Board of Directors, committees and councils with BKC, special ad-hoc committees, regional associations and more, BURGER KING franchisees are the key to the success of NFA. At Elevanta, NFA’s wholly-owned subsidiary, we manage other franchisee associations, and therefore, see how other volunteer organizations are managed. I can share first-hand that the volunteer experience and dedication experienced in the BK community is rare. The way that the BK franchisee community has come together over the past 35 years is truly remarkable. The NFA Board of Directors is professionally managed and has been governed by a knowledgeable and dedicated group of volunteer leaders since its existence.

Let us look at the executive leadership team of NFA, starting with the NFA Chair. The number of hours that Dan Fitzpatrick, NFA Chair, dedicates to the franchisee community as the volunteer leader of the association is simply incredible. Dan’s knowledge, passion for the brand and ability to advocate for all franchisees is the definition of servant leadership. Dan follows an impressive list of leaders who also dedicated their time and knowledge to improving the business and brand they love. Throughout 2023, we will highlight the past chairs of NFA and reflect on their time leading the franchisee community and NFA.

For the past 35 years, NFA has been creative and proactive in developing new programs for franchisees. There are numerous examples, including the CORE education program, which led into our Leadership, Exploration and Development (LEAD) Conference to NFA’s legislative event, now called NFA Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C., held every other year. Committees were formed when NFA leadership saw a need among the

by CHRISTY WILLIAMS

franchisee community. Examples include Project Regional Strengthening, which focused on developing leaders for the NFA’s regional associations many years ago to one of the more current committees, the IT Task Force. NFA has always been ready and willing to put the resources, including people and finances, to focus on the most pressing issues facing franchisees. Most important to the success of all these programs are the volunteer, servant leaders who developed their time, expertise and guidance to making each of these initiatives a success.

I could go on and on and write 35 paragraphs to talk about all the wonderful history and accomplishments of the NFA. I will not do that now but will focus on this amazing organization throughout 2023 as we continue to celebrate NFA, and most importantly, our dedicated and passionate servant leaders in the franchisee community – past, present and future! n