December People & News
Top 5 People on the Move
Michele Novy
Woofie’s appointed Michele Novy as their Director of Marketing. Novy has experience in broadcast journalism, marketing and communications.
Paula Mercer
Venture X appointed Paula Mercer as the brand’s Vice President of Operations. Mercer was previously United Franchise Group’s Vice President of Shared Services.
Mark Kartarik
Nikita Hair appointed Mark Kartarik as President of Nikita Hair USA. Kartarik previously served as the President of Sport Clips.
Jennifer Herskind
FASTSIGNS International Inc., made Jennifer Herskind the new Chief Marketing Officer, a role she previously held at Smoothie King.
Teri Harof
Workout Anytime named Teri Harof their new Director of Franchise Development. Harof previously worked in the marketing and franchising world and had her own ad agency.
News
Fresh Franchising
ZIPS Dry Cleaners opened the first of 12 stores that are part of a development deal spanning across the Portland, Oregon metro area. Each of the 12 stores will be owned by OKTA Dry Cleaning, LLC.
Zooming By
RNR Tire Express jumped 22 spots on Franchise Times Top 200+ List. Jumping from No. 293 to No. 271, the tire and custom wheel franchise continues to serve customers and reach milestones.
Welcome Back
A Mountain Mike’s Pizza’s Paradise Restaurant location was almost destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, which wreaked havoc across California. The location has been owned by Paradise local, Bob Dickert, for over 40 years. Dickert is excited to welcome guests back to the location and continue to operate as usual.
Congrats!
The Lost Cajun was recently named one of the Top 50 Emerging Restaurant Chains by FSR magazine. This is the second year the franchise has been recognized by the magazine.
Veteran Appreciation
Dream Vacations was named Top Franchise for Veterans by Entrepreneur magazine. The franchise launched an internal portal with military resources, titled Command Center. This portal will serve as a resource for military service members who are serving the nation, connecting them to discounts, reward programs and agents looking to support the military.
Franchising Gives Back
Granting Wishes
The Learning Experience raised over $500,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation from their 2019 Bubbles’ Road to Wishes nationwide event. This fundraising effort consisted of preschoolers, family and staff nationwide raising money to grant wishes for kids in the Make-A-Wish program. The Learning Experience mascot, ‘Bubbles the Elephant,’ helped teach kids about the fundraiser and cause during community events and classroom activities, such as wish walls, bake sales and silent art auctions.
Letting Some Light In
Childrens Lighthouse Early Learning Schools, a values-based, early-education provider in the U.S., celebrated its partnership to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this past fall by participating in the St. Jude Walk/Run in Fort Worth, Texas on Sept. 21, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The Texas franchise donated $2,500 for the walk and also raised an additional $1,945 for St. Jude. Children's Lighthouse had a station in the Family Zone, where they provided crafts, games and face painting for all participants.
Coming Together at Camp Corral
Golden Corral raised over $2 million for Camp Corral, a nonprofit corporation that provides free, unique summer camp experiences for children of injured, wounded, ill or fallen service members. There were 21 different camp weeks across 17 states, where 3,281 kids, from ages eight to 15 participated. Donations for the camp were collected from Golden Corral restaurants across the nation, as well as through a partnership with Disabled American Veterans.