Each year the top 1 percent of McDonald’s restaurant managers from 13,700 locations across the country are presented the prestigious Ray Kroc Award.
This year Oxford resident Patty Horton, manager of the Lake Orion McDonald’s, was among the 137 winners, six of which were from Michigan’s 550 restaurants.
‘All the hard work pays off,? she said. ‘I think getting rewarded for something you like to do is pretty amazing.?
Established in 1999, the annual performance-based award recognizes managers who are most successful in achieving superior results in select areas such as operational excellence, reinforcing McDonald’s commitment to people and building the business.
Horton graciously acknowledged the fact she didn’t achieve this honor alone.
‘Without my team of managers and my crew people, I wouldn’t have this,? she said. ‘I wouldn’t be able to do my job.?
Horton and her family traveled to Chicago last week for an all-expense-paid three-day visit and awards banquet at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
‘It’s almost like you see on the Oscars, walking up on the stage, shaking hands,? said Horton, who received a sleek crystal trophy, pin and $2,500 cash prize. ‘They treated us very well.?
Horton began working at the Lake Orion McDonald’s in October 1978 as a student at Lake Orion High School.
After graduating LOHS in 1979, she was promoted to assistant manager and soon left to work at the newly-opened Oxford location under restaurant manager Joan Halsted, whom she described as her ‘mentor.?
‘I learned so much from her,? Horton said. ‘She always taught us to do our best. Whatever you want, just go for it. Don’t let anybody stop you or tell you that you can’t do it.?
Horton said Halsted, who won the Ray Kroc Award in 2000 and 2006, was always a ‘very patient? teacher/boss.
‘If you had to ask her five times how to do something, she would act the same every time. She wouldn’t get agitated,? Horton said.
After spending more than 20 years at the Oxford McDonald’s, Horton became Lake Orion’s restaurant manager in May 2002.
‘I enjoy what I do,? she said. ‘I love the customers, the crew and the flexibility. There’s a big family-type feeling here. Everybody cares about each other.?
Horton’s favorite part of the job is seeing the unique potential in each of her crew members, instilling confidence in them through constant encouragement, then watching them ‘grow like a flower.?
‘A lot of people think everybody should be the same and everybody should do the job the same, well, they can’t,? she said. ‘You have to realize everybody’s different and put them in a spot you know they’ll succeed in.?
This is particularly true of Horton’s mentally-challenged employees. She takes great pride in their accomplishments and personal growth.
‘Just to see them come out of their shell and be a different person than what they were is amazing,? Horton said.
She also enjoys mentoring high school age employees and watching them mature.
‘I think that’s what keeps me young,? she said. ‘They come to you like you’re the mom of everybody . . . I always tell them, ‘Don’t say you can’t do that, you can always do whatever you want.??
Working at McDonald’s has been a family affair for Horton in the literal sense of the term. Her son, Ben, started working with her at the Oxford location when he was 14 years old.
He later followed her to Lake Orion location, where he currently does maintenance four days a week while working as a paid-on-call firefighter for Oxford and attending school to become a full-time firefighter.
Ironically, Ben works with his dad, Lt. Brad Horton, at the fire department.
‘I think it’s great,? Horton said. ‘I think everybody else thinks he’s crazy. They say, ‘Why would you want to work with your mom and dad???
Horton plans to use her $2,500 in prize money to help pay for her daughter Erin Hutchinson’s wedding. She’ll be having a May wedding in Florida followed by a reception in August.
When she’s not at the restaurant, Horton said she enjoys hanging out with her family and friends, reading and spending time at the family cabin in northern Michigan.