Recognizing Kelton Graham From Keurig Dr Pepper for 34 Years of Service

Dear BURGER KING® Partners,

Please join Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) in recognizing Kelton Graham, KDP vice president of sales, as he prepares to retire from the company after 34 years of extraordinary service and dedication to BURGER KING.

As Kelton prepares to transition BURGER KING account leadership, we caught up with many of his colleagues who shared memories of working with Kelton from his early days.

Kelton first called on BURGER KING in 1989 in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions and approached our business by building relationships with franchisees and BURGER KING Corp. with sincerity and enthusiasm. He always maintained his sharp focus on doing what was right for the restaurants and BURGER KING guests.

Drew Paterno, former BURGER KING franchisee, told us he remembers well when Kelton Graham came calling on the New York market saying, “We had recently transitioned from Pepsi back to Coca-Cola as our primary soft drink supplier. Kelton faced an uphill battle convincing us to consider adding Dr Pepper to the lineup as New York had never served Dr Pepper in any of our restaurants.”

But, he noted, “Kelton was persistent and quick to point out the benefit of having two soft drink suppliers serving our restaurants and convinced us that our guests would embrace the product — that it would provide a point of differentiation since our major competitors didn’t serve Dr Pepper. Before long, Dr Pepper had a valve in almost every restaurant in the New York market and the rest of the Northeast.”

In 1995, Kelton moved to South Florida and assumed responsibility for leading a dedicated BURGER KING national account team for the Dr Pepper brand and was later promoted to vice president. His customer-focused approach, integrity, fairness and love for the Dr Pepper and BURGER KING brands fostered his relationships with the NFA, BURGER KING Corp. and RSI.

“Kelton’s deeply felt passion and commitment to the brand and the franchise community is rare among a supplier/vendor partner. His support and partnership with the franchisees will be sorely missed,” said Dan Fitzpatrick, NFA chair.

Former NFA Chair Steve Lewis echoed these thoughts, noting Kelton’s loyalty to both the BURGER KING and Dr Pepper brands. “There’s no doubt that KDP will miss him, but so will the BURGER KING franchisee community,” said Lewis.

One thing is clear, the BURGER KING business is deeply personal for Kelton as evidenced by the countless friendships he has formed throughout his career. Kevin Newell, franchisee, warmly recalled how Kelton could be counted on to go above and beyond his role as vendor: “He is a friend to the whole system, and I personally consider him a friend,” he said. “When our friend

Patrick Sidhu passed away, Kelton and several KDP associates flew to Alabama to be with us during one of our hardest moments. They took all 25 of us out to lunch that day. Things like that I will never forget, and I am grateful to have worked with a man like Kelton.”

With much respect, we recognize Kelton’s contribution to the BURGER KING business and sincerely thank him for his more than three decades of dedication and leadership! n

The Keurig Dr Pepper Team