Top One Percent of McDonald's(R) Restaurant Managers Celebrated With Prestigious Award in Honor of Founder Ray Kroc

CHICAGO, March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- McDonald's honors its top restaurant managers today with the 2009 Ray Kroc Award, an annual performance-based recognition of the top performing McDonald's restaurant managers in the country. Established in 1999, the Ray Kroc Award was created in memory of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, to acknowledge hardworking restaurant managers who deliver superior results in selected areas of performance, operational excellence, reinforcing McDonald's commitment to people, and building the business.  

"Today is about celebrating our best managers – the ones who bring to life Ray's vision of restaurant excellence each and every day," said Jan Fields, President, McDonald's USA. "For the 26 million customers who visit our restaurants daily, these managers make the experience great. There is no one more important to our success than our restaurant managers and crew."

Ray Kroc built the McDonald's business on the belief that greatness can only be achieved through the dedication and support of a company's people. The award was named after him based on his commitment to people and recognizing their contributions to the organization he helped establish.  

McDonald's Owner/Operators and regional staff nominate restaurant managers for the Ray Kroc Award to recognize their outstanding work. From there, a selection committee of representatives from McDonald's Operations, Training and Human Resources select the top one percent of McDonald's Restaurant Managers for the Ray Kroc Award. This year a select 141 managers were chosen to receive this top honor, which includes a cash award, a Ray Kroc Award trophy and pin, and a trip to Chicago for the awards gala, hosted today by Fields.

For more information on the Ray Kroc Awards and this year's winners, please visit www.mcdepk.com/raykrocawards2009/.

About McDonald's

McDonald's USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women. Customers can now log online for free at any of the 11,000 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.

© 2010 McDonald's

SOURCE McDonald's