February 2015

2014: A Year in Review The 3rd edition of the Fulenwider Forum

will be available on April 24, 2015.

2nd edition

The

Fulenwider Forum

Photos of this year’s event can be found and shared on the Cindy Storie Memorial Bike Run Facebook page.

Jim Croce once said, “If you dig it, do it. If you dig it

a lot, do it twice.” Cindy Storie dug Jim Croce’s music,

so she listened to him often. She also dug yoga, coffee,

Harley Davidsons, and meeting new people. Cindy did

what she loved and lived each day entirely—with in-

spiration and delight. Optimistic, strong-willed, and

ever-enthusiastic, Cindy was one of a kind. She had a

special knack for turning a bad day, good and for in-

spiring others to find the good in things instead of the

bad. Cindy found pleasure in getting to know new

things about people and would have done about any-

thing for someone she knew.

During her 32 years with Fulenwider Enterprises,

Cindy filled each of our daily lives with happiness and

warmth through her kind words and joyful spirit.

Through her work as administrative assistant for Big

Mike, Cindy helped grow the positive working atmos-

phere that each of us who work here enjoys today. Her

kind, determined, and honest manner as well as her

positive outlook on life will be rooted in our culture

forever.

Cindy enjoyed volunteering for the Colonel’s Pan-

try’s Toys for Tots bike ride and toy drive. As a tribute

to Cindy, her love for riding, and commitment to help-

ing others, the Colonel’s Pantry organized a memorial

bike ride, Toys for Tots toy drive, and BBQ picnic in

her honor.

The first annual Cindy Storie Memorial Bike Ride

and Toy Drive was held on October 25, 2014, at the

Colonel’s Pantry in Morganton NC.

The event started at 11 am and welcomed friends,

families, and bikers from different counties across the

state.

To continue Cindy’s support for breast cancer

awareness and finding a cure, 100 hot pink balloons

were distributed and released into the air before the

bike ride began. To see how far they might travel, each

balloon had a tag tied to its string, identifying where it

came from and asked finders to write back.

The two hour, 93 mile course ended at Judge’s Riv-

erside, where the group enjoyed a delicious BBQ pic-

nic on the river.

The 2014 Cindy Storie Memorial Bike ride and

events raised a total of $3200. This money, along with

a truck full of new Christmas toys, were donated to

the Burke County Toys for Tots chapter—an organiza-

tion dear to Cindy. Toys for Tots provides food and

toys to children in our community throughout the

year.

Thank you to Kathy Burton and the Colonel’s Pan-

try team, Russ Fulenwider and the Judge’s team, Mary

Punch, Clay Brown, Jeff Elmore, Jon Weiner, and all

volunteers who helped make the first annual Cindy

Storie Memorial Bike Ride heartwarming and success-

ful. Thank you to Crossroads Ford and local Colonel’s

Pantry vendors for all the help supporting the event.

As Jim Croce might have said, Cindy would have

dug it.

Cindy Storie Memorial Bike Run & Toy Drive

1st

On December 6, 2014 the Colonel’s Pantry

on Jamestown Rd. in Morganton celebrated

their 10th anniversary. To commemorate

their 10th year of business, the CP

organized a festive event at the store, for

anyone who wanted to join. Santa and Mrs.

Clause visited for the celebration as did the

NC Thumb & Finger Style Guitar Player

group from Statesville, NC. This group plays

for the Biltmore House events and stops at

the Colonel’s Pantry to visit each time they

travel to Asheville.

Throughout the years, the Colonel’s Pantry

has made a lot of friends—local and

distant—and established a reputation for

their willingness to help out those in need.

Kathy Burton, manager of Colonel’s Pantry,

will celebrate her 38th anniversary with the

company in March. Recently, Kathy and

Neese shared a few memories from CP # 3.

“One summer, Neese bought a man two

hotdogs, a bag of chips and a cold drink

because he said he had nothing to eat or

drink,” Kathy explained. “After the man left,

Neese went outside and saw the man she

bought lunch for counting money in the

parking lot. A few minutes later, he came

back to buy something else, and Neese

asked that he pay her back for the meal she

gave him first. The man paid Neese—she

doesn't let anything get past her!”

Another memory was when Susan Deal saw

a lady dumping candy off of the bottom

shelf into her pocket book late at night.

Susan confronted the lady about the candy

she was putting in her bag and asked if she

was ready to pay for it. The lady

immediately said she wasn’t intending to

steal it and she was ready to pay. Susan

rang up the candy from the lady's purse and

she paid…$53 dollars for the candy! “Just

because it’s third shift doesn’t mean we

aren’t watching!” said Neese.

The Colonel’s Pantry sees a lot of people

who have run out of gas. A few years ago,

there was of a man who ran out of gas, had

no way to pay for any, and needed some to

get home. Neese said, “I’ll give you some gas

as long as you leave something with me so

I’ll know you will come back and pay for it”.

The man left his two children as collateral

and returned promptly with payment.

The team at the Colonel’s Pantry have been

together for a long time and aren’t afraid of

a challenge. They work hard to keep the

store sparkling clean, ensure that all

merchandise is accounted for, and are

always willing to lend a hand. The Colonel’s

Pantry plays an active role in the

community and raise funds through their

partnership with the local Toys for Tots

chapter. To help raise money, the Colonel’s

Pantry team organizes semiannual charity

events that bring together local and distant

community members for a common cause.

The celebration of their 10th anniversary

was a great success and brought many

people to celebrate with food, fun, and

music. The Colonel’s Pantry hopes to host

the NC Thumb & Finger Style Guitar Players

back for future events. Thank you to Kathy

Burton and the Colonel’s Pantry team for

making this a memorable event.

Congratulations on your 10th year at the

new store on Jamestown Rd., Colonel’s

Pantry!

‘Twas weeks before Christmas,

And all through the store

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even the door.

Kathy sat quietly in

Deep thoughtful ponder

How in the dickens would she get

From here to yonder?

She had lived there nearly 20 years:

With her nice kitchen and funny red floor,

But Kathy had dreams

Of a whole lot more.

Fulenwider listened

And made a big plan.

Then he got the trucks a rolling

‘a bringing in the sand.

Before you knew it

There was a shiny new store.

And oh my goodness,

Gas pumps galore.

Kathy took pictures

Of the sleeves of candy

To reset everything back,

To fine and dandy.

She moved the store with

Lots of boxes and overstuffed bags.

So she could match the items

To shelf ID tags.

Well ten years have flown

Right on by,

And Kathy sells everything,

Including pie.

Fulenwider must have known

When he made those plans

That Colonels Pantry # 3

Would become oh so grand!

Colonel’s Pantry # 3 Celebrates 10th anniversary

Whitney, Susie, and Kathy Burton

smile before the 1st Cindy Storie

Memorial Bike Run

The CP#3 team and

Santa & Mrs. Clause

Poem by Susan Deal

Nick

Hendersonville Employee of the week

Nov. 25

Yvonnie

Cherryville Excellent rolled

chicken taco shop

Dora

Hendersonville Most VOC mentions

week of Dec. 9

Denver 1 Great looking, very

tasty chicken !

Alberto

Blue Ridge Going the extra mile

with cleaning

Eddie

Mario

Cornelius Food Champion

Made 3 items in a row perfectly

Tiffany

Kings Mountain Proper BLAST earned

3 extra points on CORE inspection

Brandy

Marion 2 Pays attention to buffet

& excellent service

David

Blairsville Fixed Frutista

machine & awesome cook

Ebony

Billy Graham Smiling to guests & great drive thru

service

Firehouse Subs Gives wonderful guest welcomes

Kim

Newton Drive thru service

champion

Courtney

Phillip

North Tryon Awesome job bread-ing strips during CFF

Heather

Kings Mountain Making the perfect

quesaritos

Morganton TB Suggestive selling

Starburst Frutistas

Jerrica

Lenoir Outstanding service &

smiles

Adasha

Fernando

Crossroads Quick HBO Champ,

15 cars in a row

Caught doing something right is a positive response to an activity a team mem-

ber is undertaking. These tasks can be anything from using the correct practic-

es while taking an order in the drive thru to breading chicken the right way or

following correct procedures for dish washing. Over the past few months,

managers and district managers have recognized the efforts of individuals who

are ‘caught’ performing a task using appropriate procedures. Regardless of the

task, it is important to understand the correct way to perform it, so every per-

son is able to serve as a model and can teach others. In order for the catcher to

spot someone else carrying out a task properly, they too must know the correct

procedure. This helps us learn how to teach others best practices appropriate

for daily tasks. The most significant and fun part about caught doing something

right is that it is unexpected and can happen at any time. Keep up the diligent

work and dedication to doing all that you do, ‘the right way’—you never know

when you might get caught!

Denver 1 Serving guests the

best food always with a smile

Q

Nelva

Woodlawn Rd. Team player. Gets orders out quick & takes care of guests

Anissa

Indian Trail Outstanding service in

drive thru, perfect orders

Kelly

521 Service champ

Quick to help. Ambas-sador for our company

Billy

Hendersonville Great attitude & smile

while taking care of lobby guests

Wilkesboro Awesome pot pies

Dakota

Tyrann

South End No.1 team member for VOC hospitality

Norma

Kannapolis 10 years with us &

she’s still the hardest worker

Alisa

Lincolnton

Service Champion

Dee Dee

Morganton 2 Upselling Apple

Turnovers

Jackie

Lenoir Training & coaching

team

Douglas

Mooresville Came in on his day off, he is always willing to help!

Most people prefer to hit the snooze button on their alarms repeatedly until the last minute before they must get up and start their day. Not Sonya McCullough. A biking en-thusiast, Sonya kick starts her day at 5:00 am with 30 minutes of cycling. She then travels to two of her five stores where she spends the day working alongside her teams, serving guests.

Sonya—who describes herself as outgoing, loving, and spiritual—shares that, though her po-sition as District Manager can be chal-lenging at times, it is very exciting, rewarding work. “Sonya has a very strong knowledge of Taco Bell and is passionate about teaching what she knows to her managers and team members so that they can win,” shares JW. “She is an excellent trainer and coach.” Sonya’s favorite part of her job is that it allows her to meet and build relationships with new people; em-ployees and guests alike. When she visits her store in Newton, she enjoys the company of two guests, Mrs. Betty and Mr. Cliff who like to share stories about their grandchil-dren. Every time Sonya sees them, they ask about JW and Sandra.

Sonya, who joined the Charlotte team in January of 2002, names two individuals that, throughout her career, have had the most influence on her. Sonya says that Mike Harris from Wendy’s helped her develop restaurant management

skills and JW has supported and helped her develop into her position as District Manager with five stores. When asked what motivates her, Sonya says success. She is driven by the opportunities offered by the company to grow her personal career.

Tom says, “Sonya is a people person. She’s a consistent leader who treats each person with respect. Sonya leads by example, she teaches her people and then gives them the opportunity to be successful.” Sonya shares that she enjoys training and working side by side with team members and managers at every level. JW adds, “Sonya promotes team-

work in her stores and expects all managers to embrace the team concept. Her teams feel like they can win.”

After Sonya wraps up at her second store , she heads home to spend time with her family over dinner before she hops back on her bike for another 30 minutes of cycling. When she has a moment to herself, Sonya enjoys listen-ing to music or watching television. If she could meet anyone, it would be Martin Luther King and if she could visit any place, she would choose Paris, France. Two things you may not know about Sonya: she has three grandchildren and is great in the kitchen. Tom and JW both shared: “Sonya is a very good

cook!” Tom added, “She’s a great hostess! Sonya really takes care of people and ensures everyone has what they need and are comfortable.”

Sonya looks forward to the opening of a new store and the development of her bench DM in 2015. Spotlight on Sonya for her leadership, hard work and achievements in 2014, and true passion for working as a team.

Sonya McCullough

Juan Carlos Machorro

Juan Carlos Machorro became

Columbus’ Restaurant General

Manager after working as

Assistant to Manager Rene Garcia

in Hendersonville.

Congratulations! We are excited

for your career growth as Manager

with the Fulenwider team.

New Manager Training

Neal Martin

Neal Martin joined us with 23 years of restaurant experience gained while working with Luhin Foods. Before he became a manager in Richfield, Neal trained with Marcia, Bench RGM at her training store. We are thrilled to have you on team Albemarle with Fulenwider. Welcome Neal!

Welcome New Managers

“Somethin’ to Crow About” Title by Susan Deal

On Saturday, January 10, 2015 six cooks from across the Fulenwider organi-zation competed in the Cook Olympic Games at KFC of Lincolnton. Each cook was asked to prepare and fry Original Rec-ipe, Grilled, and Crispy fried chicken. The contestants were evaluated based on their knowledge of procedures, speed, and quality of their final products.

Jonathan Ellison from Freedom Dr. took home third for his impressive looking chicken, attention to detail, and speed of delivery. Jonathan knew his procedures well and in the midst of the competition, he replaced the water in the sanitization bucket to help others in the kitchen out.

Chanze Benton from Morganton 2 was awarded sec-ond place. He was extremely quick, produced great looking chicken, and was ready for any-thing that came his way. Chanze had excellent looking final prod-ucts!

The winner of the Cook Olympic Games was Amilia Ruiz from Wilkesboro. Amilia was spirited, knew the processes very well, and cooked quickly, following correct procedures! Congratulations Amilia for being the 2014 champion and our company’s #1 cook. Thank you for your hard work.

Winners were also named for each category of chicken.

Maria Rose from Spruce Pine won best Crispy chicken, Alvin from Lawyers Rd. took home the award for best Grilled chicken, and Veronica from Murphy was recognized for having the best Original Recipe chicken.

In addition to fun in the kitchen, the participants and fans enjoyed games and activities in the lobby. The Cook Olympic participants and their support

teams played games, ate great food, and celebrated each cook. All

districts were represented in the Cook Olympics and many fans joined to cheer their team members on.

Congratulations to all who participated in the Cook Olympic Games. Thank

you to Tom Hirunpugdi and the District Managers for or-ganizing the event and provid-ing games for everyone to en-

joy. Thank you to those who came in sup-port of their teammates and friends. Thank you to Jimmy Burgess and team Lincolnton for hosting a wonderful event.

Congratulations winners and con-

testants! Bring on the next Cook Olympic

games!

Amilia Ruiz

2014 Champion

Article submitted by Erskine White

On October 24th, the Fulenwider Human Resources Team hosted a

New Manager Training session that was attended by 21 recently

promoted/hired managers from stores throughout the Company.

Participants received hands on training from Chief People Officer

Erskine White and Human Resources Specialist Tomra Martin on

topics ranging from Documentation and F.M.L.A. Compliance to E-

Verify Compliance and proper I-9 completion. More than anything

else, the participants learned that their Human Resources Team is

available to assist them whenever the need arises, and that Hu-

man Resources matters should always be handled by experienced

Human Resources professionals. Article submitted by Erskine White, Chief People Officer

On Page 8

“The team building exercises we did

with the DMs on 6/12 and the Phoenix

Taco Shift Manager meeting on 10/15.

It was a real honor to spend time with

such a dynamic group of developing

leaders.” —Erskine White

“Tom came by our store in South End and

my steamer was singing to every customer.

I think he still has the video of him doing

that. Another great memory for me would

be me telling everybody at the office that I

would work up until my due date. Well, the

day came 2 weeks early,—while I was

working!” —Rasheeda Ellerbee

“Over July 4th, Cherokee hit $10,000 +

for the first time. Sue Garret of

Blairsville celebrated her 20th year

with the company. Tom recognized and

thanked Sue with a nice dinner and

beautiful watch.” —Terry Weeman

“In the third round of Taco Bell CORE inspec-

tions, all nine Taco Bells received Green results,

this is the first time they’ve all hit green at once.

Both Madison and King achieved Green CORE

standing for the first time. Under the leadership

of Medra Dalton, Madison has improved their

VOC score from 42% to a 63% overall average

for the year.” — Jon Weiner

“This year, there have been many

recognitions for outstanding leader-

ship, sales growth, and teamwork.

Caught! Doing Something Right is a

recognition given to individuals

who are randomly caught doing

things the right way. In 2015, keep

getting caught and bring home more

bacons.” —Big Mike

“One thing I know for a fact that stands

out is 2 of my tenured employees:

Emma Avila and Socorro Figueroa.

These ladies have not missed 1 point on

CORE, YTD. If CORE arrives and they are

working on the line, I feel confident

they will win.” —Christian Mendoza

“Our great VOC performance and im-

proved CFF scores come to mind. All Taco

Bells have been refreshed with new paint,

current signage, confirmation boards, and

drive thru entry portals. We also com-

pleted full remodels in Reidsville and

Albemarle Rd, and installed a new line in

West Jefferson.” — Kevin Coffey

“The opening of Firehouse subs. I

enjoyed working with their team

when they opened. Also, the Taco

Bell stores were all green for CORE

in one round.” —Theresa Truax

“The office held Christmas in July to

honor Susan Burnett’s favorite and

last holiday with the office before

her retirement.” —Justin Orders

“For me, two things that stand

out are the improvements on

VOC scores versus last year

and that my assistant manager

became an RGM for Columbus.”

—Rene Garcia

“What stands out to me are all the internal promo-

tions from team member to shift manager. To name

a few: Robin Pope in Lincolnton, Cornell Watts and

Nicole Wamsley in Gastonia, Latiska Whitlock and

Qadeera Smith in York, Whitney Thompson and

Cearia Johnson in Fort Mill and Jimmy Ferrell in

Indian Trail. It also was nice for me personally to

get to know the folks on the Fulenwider side. Its

good to see us becoming “we” rather than Charlotte

and Morganton.” —Stephen Breining

“The embedding of

the idea that we are

one company.” —

Ulysses McAliley

“Susan’s last meeting before retirement. The recap

video showing years of service and fun times with

the company illustrates how what we do on a daily

basis can touch the lives of the people we work with

everyday. Mr. Fulenwider’s passion to bring one

company to life has really made an impact on how

we work together with all the miles between Char-

lotte and Morganton. The only difference between

us is the town in which we work not the name of

the company. I have enjoyed being a part of the

journey this year as we have been moving in that

direction.” —Pam Brabb

What stands out from 2014?

“A new branch on the money tree

grew with the opening of Firehouse

Subs #1.” --Michael Fulenwider

“During the CORE inspection at South Blvd.

we had just one guest dine with us. The in-

spector was trying to find deductions and

couldn’t. They finished with an outstanding

green score of 96.8%.” —Randy Cummings

“Some of the great things I remember

are: ALL NINE Taco Bells had a green

core score at the same time and how

awesome the Cook off Olympic game at

the Richfield KT was .” —Jason Bennett

“Morganton 2 and Wilkesboro were both

certified as training stores. Hudson also

established company history with its in-

credible Platinum CFF average score of

96.75. “ —Jeff Elmore

1. Saw Firehouse become a reality, plus it is oper-ating at a high level of ops.

2. Built Riverside to a double digits sales increase and set the bar for food quality.

3. Coach Jeff, Terry and Jon to become more ef-fective DMs with results.

4. Made more money for our family than last year.

5. Continued to lead the way in building a solid culture that many companies do not have.

6. Recognition, Recognition, Recognition.

7. Stabilized Statesville operations to create a money making machine for FE2.

8. Created TOPs to achieved better communica-tion and enhance 1 system.

9. Happy to see Michael III on his way!!

10. Happy to see Big Mike got his new toy car.

Diverse

Passionate

Respectful

Fun

We celebrate many holidays together, as

teams and as a company. Thank you to

everyone who made these celebrations

so special and filled with joy, recognition,

and great company. A big thank you to the

individuals and teams who worked on

and throughout the 2014 holidays. Your

leadership and dedication to greatness is

what makes up the Fulenwider culture.

Thank you.

Fulenwider is celebrating its

50th year of operations this

year. Over the next few months,

keep your eyes out for details

on the company wide

celebration! Please submit photos, stories, artwork, etc. to

elle@fulenwider.net to see it in our next newsletter!