Brian and Jeff Carmody Selected as Grand Marshals for Ferris State University Homecoming Parade

On Sept. 28, Brian and Jeff Carmody of JK&T Wings served as the grand marshals of the homecoming parade at Ferris State University, their alma mater. Both brothers graduated from the College of Business and wore the No. 5 jersey on the Ferris football field, experiences that they say have shaped their business strategies today.

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“I think that being involved in athletics and then having a background in the business school helped us become well-rounded in the restaurant industry because of the ebbs and flows that you learn of being a collegiate athlete,” said Brian.

At JK&T Wings, community is an important building block of the business. The brothers recall a motto from their days on the football field: “Every player, every play.” They have shifted this into a restaurant-focused phrase, “Every guest, every shift, every day,” encouraging the staff to provide each visitor with a great dining experience.

Giving back to the community is something that they truly value. Brian noted that General Manager Steve Cassiday and Assistant General Manager Ben Nagy do a phenomenal job of keeping Buffalo Wild Wings® involved with not only the athletics community, but the Big Rapids community as a whole.

In addition to riding in a red convertible during the parade, the Carmody brothers also spent homecoming visiting with old teammates and classmates, reminiscing on their championship-winning days. Some of their favorite memories from the university involved winning division titles as Bulldogs. During the Carmody era, the Bulldogs went 71-31-3. Their university pride is on display in their Big Rapids BWW® restaurant with Jeff’s jersey framed and hung on the wall and a poster of Brian in uniform.

“I think the university experience serves as a footprint for your path in success and life,” said Jeff. “It’s just been fun to be a part of not only the community, but Ferris, and give back in some ways because of the experiences we’ve had at this great university.”

The brothers are both very proud to be Ferris State alumni and have loved seeing the growth that the school has brought to the community. They noted that it was an honor and an “incredible privilege” to represent the university during homecoming week.

World Wide Wings Hosts EWRF Event to Benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society

At least twice a year, World Wide Wings partners with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and this year was no different. St. Vincent de Paul’s mission is to bring hope and help to those in need so they may find stability and move toward self-sufficiency.

World Wide Wings’ manager at the Sterling, Illinois, location, Jennifer Hovey, found out about the society through a local newspaper and gave them a call to discuss a partnership and fundraising opportunities through the EWRF program.

Earlier this year, World Wide Wings, owned by Wray Hutchinson, hosted an EWRF event for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and raised a total of $247.94 for the society. With an increase in sales of 46.8 percent and an increase in transactions of 38.1 percent, the fundraising event brought in 59 guests and afforded a sense of community.

The event was advertised through ads in the local paper, social media and through tickets and flyers placed throughout the community.

“During the month that we have an EWRF for St. Vincent de Paul, our team members collect food for their food pantry,” said Hovey. “We pick a different organization that needs help every month and collect the specific items that are needed. We love giving back!”

World Wide Wings Makes Wishes Come True for Children in Oregon and Washington

In 2018, World Wide Wings once again made the holiday season extra special for children in Washington and Oregon. Each year, the company launches its Season of Wishes campaign to raise money for the Make-A-Wish® Foundation in the Northwest.

From Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, World Wide Wings’ Buffalo Wild Wings® locations worked toward a goal of raising $37,500 to grant the wishes of five children facing life-threatening illnesses. “Wishes make these fighters feel like kids again, and they get to enjoy time with their families,” said WWW Field Marketing Coordinator Holly Riggsby.

Make-A-Wish provides blue stars for World Wide Wings team members to sell to guests in order to raise the funds. BWW® surpassed the 2018 goal, raising $39,794.65 to help spread cheer to children.WWW Make a Wish 1

Last year, money collected through World Wide Wings’ Season of Wishes made the dreams of six children come true: 4-year-old Aaliyah, who wished to go to Disneyland; 17-year-old Jessica, who wished for a boat; Kolbe, 7, who wished for a swimming pool; 7-year-old Esmae’s wish of visiting Hawaii; Krue, 11, whose wish was to travel to the Bahamas; and Monserrat, 16, who wished to see the Mall of America. In total, the Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfilled the wishes of 260 youth.

Throughout the years, World Wide Wings has donated more than $204,500 to Make-A-Wish and looks forward to continuing the Season of Wishes tradition. “Our team did an amazing job, and I’m excited to see what wishes we are able to grant this year,” said Riggsby.

JK&T Wings Sets Up Missing Man Table in All 42 Locations

This past Veterans Day, JK&T Wings honored veterans everywhere by setting up a Missing Man Table in all 42 of its locations. In memory and respect of all veterans and comrades that lost their lives fighting for this country, a table was reserved in JK&T Wings’ BWW® stores nationwide for the fallen and missing heroes.

The Missing Man Table, also commonly known as the Fallen Comrade Table, is set up during special military occasions in memory of fallen, missing or imprisoned military service members. Originally growing out of the growing concern of the Vietnam POW/MIA issue, this tradition has grown from being set up in military dining facilities only to being set up in diners around the nation in correlation with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.

On each reserved table sits a white table cloth, a black napkin, a single red rose, a vase tied with a yellow ribbon, an unlit candle, a pinch of salt, a lemon slice, an inverted glass and an empty chair. Each one of these items signifies the pain and loss these veterans and their families have endured.Woodhaven

“These tables were displayed to show gratitude,” said Jon Grayeb, manager of marketing for JK&T Wings, owned by the Ward/Carmody group.

The white table cloth symbolizes the purity of their motives when answering the call of duty; the black napkin represents sorrow of captivity or death; the rose reminds us of the life of each of the missing and their loved ones and friends that keep faith; the vase tied with a yellow ribbon symbolizes the continued determination to account for the missing; the unlit candle reflects the unrealized hopes for the return of loved ones; the salt symbolizes the tears shed by those missing and their families who seek answers; the lemon slice represents the missing service member’s bitter fate; the upside down glass symbolizes their inability to share in the evening’ toast; and the empty chair further represents the emptiness families feel for their missing loved ones.

“Our team consists of many different wonderful individuals. Some of those individuals are veterans or have friends or family who have been effected by the outcomes of war,” said franchisee Kent Ward. “When this idea was brought to us and we saw how passionate just one of our veteran team members felt about it, we wanted to run it across all of our locations.”

The Jones Group Partners With BOSMA Enterprises for the Fourth Year in a Row

This year marks the fourth anniversary of The Jones Group’s partnership with BOSMA Enterprises.

BOSMA Enterprises is a nonprofit with a mission to help the blind and visually impaired build life and job skills needed to remain independent and stay self-sufficient. People who are blind or visually impaired face a 70 percent unemployment rate, and BOSMA Enterprises provides opportunities for those with vision impairments by providing training and employment programs and partnering with local businesses.

Four years ago, the manager of the Lebanon, Indiana, location was approached by a team member who had a sibling in the program and asked if BWW® could find a way to partner with BOSMA Enterprises inside and outside the location, and the B-Dubs location has been supporting the nonprofit ever since.

“The team members love the fact that we are able to partner and help individuals in the community in a way they never expected,” said Area Director Jonathan Curtis. “They like the fact that this was not just a one and done type of partnership, that we keep it going, and we have hosted meetings and get togethers for BOSMA participants inside of our location.”

Through the program, The Jones Group has interviewed and hired countless interns, brought on several short-term employees and has even gained one valuable employee who is still with the company today.

“The hard work and dedication of these individuals is incredible. They do not let their disability hold them back,” said Curtis. “They always bring high energy and energize the staff.”

Its partnership with BOSMA Enterprises is one that The Jones Group, owned by Mark and Mike Jones, values and plans to continue throughout the years.

“These types of partnerships are extremely important to The Jones Group and the brand. These partnerships allow us to tie ourselves to the community, and it shows our team members the type of impact we can make in other people’s days and lives,” said Curtis. “It shows the team that we are part of something bigger than our store and something bigger to the community.”

Four M Franchising, LLC Offers Recent Graduates Free Wing Sauce

On June 13, after seeing the success of offering bottles of wing sauce as giveaways to March Madness fans during the games, Four M Franchising, LLC’s Brooklyn Atlantic Terminal BWW® location decided to spread the wing-sauce giveaways to recent graduates from New York University.

“We saw so many fans happy with the sauce bottles, we thought what better way to congratulate the graduates of New York University than with a sauce bottle of their preference,” said Jean-Paul Parnizari, director of operations with Four M Franchising.

Anyone in their cap and gown was offered a free bottle of wing sauce of their choice and the VIP treatment while dining in. “They tell us stories of the memorable day and how happy they were to see Buffalo Wild Wings® give something back,” said Parnizari.attachment (1) (1)

The event, spearheaded by Regional Manager Juan Feliciano, was not advertised in any way due to Four M Franchising wanting to surprise graduates on their big day. “We wanted to thank them for choosing Buffalo Wild Wings as their place to celebrate the ending of a chapter in their lives,” said Parnizari.

This was the first time Four M Franchising offered giveaways to New York University students but plans on hosting the event again next year and also expanding the surprise offer to other universities in the area, such as Medgar Evans, Baruch and Long Island University.

“Watching these young folks come in to celebrate their achievement was a great experience for the team. On this day, we realized we are not just serving food to hungry diners but creating a memorable experience for people,” said Parnizari. “Giving away a sauce bottle to our fans seemed like a little cost to bring great memories. It is important to remember to recognize those fans that have made Buffalo Wild Wings a part of their lives.”

In addition to the wing sauce giveaway, Four M Franchising has started a program called “Get Saucy” where team members ask guests what their favorite sauce is and give them a bottle. “The idea was to create genuine connections with our guests and just say thank you,” said Joseph Lichwick, chief operating officer of Four M Franchising, LLC. “Many of the guests were skeptical at first as they thought there was a catch, but there’s no catch. It’s a feel-good program that shows the guests we care about them and appreciate them choosing Buffalo Wild Wings.”

Four M Pairs Up With Milford Boys & Girls Club for EWRF Event

Four M Franchising’s Milford, Connecticut, Buffalo Wild Wings® has promising future team members getting an early start with the location. In October, the location partnered with the local Boys & Girls Club for an Eat Wings Raise Funds event that allowed youth from the club to shadow Four M staff.

“That evening we had 15 members from the program come out and work with our staff.  The kids from the club were then provided dinner and were able to talk to guests about the club,” said Danielle Cadden, training general manager. “The kids learned a lot about team work and food safety, and as they are not here to work, they love to help out and ask questions. I see many future employees.”

Leading up to the evening, the Milford location, owned by franchisee James Bitzonis, promoted the night through flyers and email blasts, and because the B-Dubs® is located inside the local mall, Four M tapped the outlet’s website and social media platforms for additional promotion. Held from 5-10 p.m., the EWRF event brought in almost $300 for the Milford Boys & Girls Club.Four M_Milford

“The kids donned their Boys & Girls Club football, basketball and new soccer jerseys they were able to purchase with the donations from our location. The jerseys also feature the BWW® logo, so they can show their support for us as well,” Cadden said. “The families who utilize the Boys & Girls Club may not always be able to dine out, but when they do, we know we are their No. 1 choice in dining.”

Four M team members expressed their pleasure at being able to work with the youth, and the Milford B-Dubs is already looking forward to hosting the event again in the near future. For Four M’s 18 Buffalo Wild Wings locations, getting hands-on in the community is what it’s all about.

“This is always a fun event where we are able to give back to the community,” said Four M Director of Operations Beth Faulkner. “Staying community-connected ensures we remain the place to dine out for all events for the family.”

JK&T Wings Focuses on Team During Its Annual Business Conference

For more than 20 years, JK&T Wings Inc. has been bringing together its leadership for an annual retreat to network, share ideas and best practices, and have some fun. This year’s event, held Sept. 18-20 at Boyne Mountain Resort in Michigan, was no exception.

The event, themed “Bring Back the Wild,” began with a welcome from COO Brian Carmody. “Brian kicks off the business conference each year with an inspiring presentation, and this year was no exception,” said Vice President of Training Tra-C Garcia. “Brian came bursting out adorned in an ice-skating suit of flames, paying homage to our founding fathers, Scott Lowery and Jim Disbrow. With deep emotion, Brian shared personal stories about his experiences with Jim Disbrow.”

Carmody also shared a look back at the rich history of JK&T Wings, from its inception in 1994 to where the 42-location organization is today. He highlighted a number of important milestones, including when the company reached $100 million in sales. JK&T Wings also celebrated team members during the retreat, some of whom had more than 15 years of service.JKT John Bowie and Owners

“We look forward to bringing our leaders – district managers, general managers and assistant general managers – together for this event each year to, first and foremost, share our sincere gratitude with each and every one of them for their daily contributions to the success of our team,” said Garcia.

Owned by franchisees Jim Carmody, Kent Ward and Tim Ward, JK&T Wings began its annual business conference in the late 1990s at the Maple Creek Golf Club in Michigan.  This year, they welcomed more than 140 team members, along with vendor partners, Buffalo Wild Wings® COO John Bowie; DOs Tom Vertovec and Bill Sawyer; and franchise consultants Tom Dickson, Scott Robinson, Greg Hines and Robert Fosolino.

Each day, the agenda included sessions to review results and share ideas and future goals. These meetings typically allow department heads from Operations, HR, Marketing and Training, as well as vendor partners, to get in front of JK&T leaders and learn from one another during interactive presentations.

“We enjoyed very insightful presentations from our vendor partners, Bill Sawyer, Tom Vertovek, and JK&T team members, who shared great knowledge and best practices that our leaders were able to take back to their teams,” Garcia said. “We were extremely blessed to have John Bowie join us for the business conference. John captivated the participants as he offered a powerful message of inspiration in sharing the future vision of Buffalo Wild Wings. Our team was very moved by his profound message of change and walked away re-energized and excited about their future and the future of the brand.”

With the focus on a people-first culture, JK&T is able to retain talented team members who walk away from the conference with ideas they are able to put into action to improve their operations.

“The feedback from participants this year was remarkable with many commenting this was the best conference we have hosted,” said Garcia. “This event is regarded as an investment in our people, an opportunity to bring everyone together to share big picture ideas, celebrate wins and express gratitude for the contributions of our valued team members.”

Four M’s Times Square BWW on Display for National Chicken Wing Day

Four M Franchising’s Times Square Buffalo Wild Wings® was a blazin’ success on July 29, also known as National Chicken Wing Day. Training General Manager O’Neil Washington made appearances on Fox & Friends Weekend and Barstool Sports’ Chicks in the Office podcast in honor of the holiday.

During the Fox & Friends live broadcast, Washington led the show’s anchors in a 30-second wing challenge that featured wings spun in Honey BBQ, Asian Zing, Sweet BBQ and mild sauces. The winner consumed five chicken wings.

The Times Square location saw increased traffic from the television spot, and although it was the first time Four M had partnered with Fox & Friends, the company’s 18 locations are always looking for partnership opportunities.Four M Chicks in the Office1

“We look to partner with outlets small and large. We want to reach out to as many people as we can and show them what a great product we have,” said Four M franchisee James Bitzonis.

Washington then took the Buffalo Wild Wings Traditional Blazin’ Challenge to Chicks in the Office’s Ria Ciuffo and Francesca Mariano for National Chicken Wing Day. For those who complete the popular challenge in under six minutes, a free T-shirt and bragging rights were included. However, Ciuffo and Mariano each downed only one wing during the event.

Bitzonis said the inaugural partnership between BWW and Chicks in the Office was a wonderful opportunity for the brand. “Buffalo Wild Wings’ corporate PR department reached out and asked us to execute,” he said. “It gave us great exposure while showcasing our product to those who may not know of our brand.”

As for Washington’s willingness to step in and lead the wing-eating challenges, Bitzonis said that is just part of what makes him a valued member of the Four M team. “O’Neil has been with us for over 10 years. He exudes a teamwork philosophy that allows him to lead with great results.”

AMPAL Group Goes Above and Beyond to Support Local Boys & Girls Club

This year has proven to be a busy year for AMPAL Group and its partnership with its local Boys & Girls Club, and the group’s generosity with the Boys & Girls Club extended to their 2018 Youth of the Year Award.

“The Youth of the Year is the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s annual signature event where each club highlights their best and brightest club members ages 14-18,” said Jordan McMeen, marketing coordinator with AMPAL Group, which is owned by Amit and Bipin Patel. The award, which includes an academic scholarship, is presented to the finalist who best exemplifies superior leadership skills, academic achievement and outstanding service to the club and the community. AMPAL-Peixe

For this year’s Youth of the Year, AMPAL Group’s president and CEO, Bipin Patel, was asked to be a judge on the panel that decided the 2018 Youth of the Year award winner. After interviewing the candidates, Patel was blown away by these outstanding young people, their drive to succeed and their plans for the future. Of the participants, Peixe Williams made a lasting impression on the judges and won the award.  

Patel took it upon himself to donate an additional $3,000 scholarship from AMPAL Group to the 2018 Youth of the Year winner to ensure they had a solid head start on college. With the help of Patel and AMPAL Group, Williams began her first year of college at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, and has a bright future ahead of her. 

In addition to teaming up with the Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year Award, AMPAL Group also helped the Boys & Girls Club of Union County with their club renovation. “AMPAL Group provided the manpower to help with everything from taping and painting rooms to hanging shelves and TVs for the club,” said McMeen.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, McMeen volunteered to be a chaperone for the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Keystone Conference held in Atlanta. She traveled with the group of teens and Boys & Girls Club staff to and from Atlanta and attended all conference events with her designated group of four teen girls, which included the Youth of the Year award winner, Peixe. “It was an amazing experience that reminded me how great of a partner Buffalo Wild Wings® chose when they teamed up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America,” said McMeen.