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.
“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.”