One of the best and one of the worst things I deal with in my job are the restaurant owners. It's interesting because outside restaurant world, most of you see the restaurants and think of a big, pie-in-the-sky corporation. Since I began working at the agency, each restaurant now has a face to it. An owner, or a franchisee as some people call it. These men and women are small business owners, more often than not very ingrained into their communities. They work in those towns, live in those towns, go to church in those towns, pay taxes, pay bills, send their kids to public schools, etc. etc. etc. So, just like Joe Bob of Joe Bob's Cafe is considered a small business owner, so are these franchisees. They just happen to have a powerful name on their door.
As I'm sure you can imagine, these men and women provide me much humor and much frustration. They are ultimately my bosses. They hire my company, which hires me. I report to each and every one of them, whether they own one store or 20 stores. More often than not, they make me smile. I have great relationships with them, many of them think of me as their daughter even.
One of the first owners I met when I started at the agency was Charlie Altom, who owns all 7 stores in Norman. Because of my love for all things Norman and OU, Charlie and I developed a special bond and he has been one of my favorites for a long time. After 21 years in Norman, and 35 total years with the restaurant Charlie and his wife Monte are retiring tomorrow, selling their stores so they can go fishing with their granddaughters. So, I will miss Charlie A LOT. He was never bogged down by the corporate mindset, and always gave you an honest piece of mind. The Norman Transcript wrote a very nice article about this lovely couple. You should read it if you get a chance. Luckily, these are the kind of people I get to work with every day!
http://www.normantranscript.com/commerce/local_story_148010437?keyword=topstory
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