This month we bid farewell to loyal Taco Bell brand champion, Area Coach (AC) Kelly Lawver. Kelly retires from his post as AC of Territory 3, which covers the Rockford, IL DMA. He joined our company in 2015 with an acquisition and celebrates more than 35 years with the Taco Bell brand. Check out his career highlights!
We threw Kelly a surprise retirement party in early February. He was clearly touched and couldn’t believe how many people came. “It was awesome,” he shares. “It was quite the surprise to have the executive team show up.”
Kelly expresses pride in seeing people from his past at the party, all of whom found success in their current pursuits.
You don’t realize the impact you have on people.
-Kelly Lawver, Area Coach
Of course, we couldn’t let him go without a proper sendoff! Kelly is going to be missed around here. Kasey Baeza, Director of Operations, says endearingly that Kelly is “like the most loving and supportive version of everyone’s dad.”
Emotional Transitions
Retirement is bittersweet for this hardworking leader. In 2020, Kelly lost his wife unexpectedly. He says one of his biggest regrets is that she never got to retire. “That’s the emotional piece,” he shares.
“When my wife passed, I had to find a new norm,” he confesses. “It took over three years to adapt to that.” There were big changes – their daughter got married shortly thereafter and Kelly had to learn to live on his own for the first time at age 55!
Yet he admits he’s been planning for retirement for a long time and can also appreciate what’s coming: “No more alarm clocks, no more meeting notices, no more calls in the middle of the night!”
What has he enjoyed the most? “I love being an Area Coach, but probably the job I loved the most was Market Training Manager because I had the ability to develop the new talent that was coming into the area,” Kelly says. “And I really enjoyed that, seeing them grow with the company and become big leaders.”
Teaching is Kelly’s passion. He’s able to unlock potential in his people who work for him because he truly cares about them as people.
-Kasey Baeza, Director of Operations
The Finale & New Beginnings
Kelly’s last day is February 24. AC Ann Kurich has been tapped to combine his territory with hers. He says that the people are what he will miss most, the daily interactions. Region Coach Jennifer Copeland says she’ll miss Kelly’s ability to connect and make his people feel important.
“I’m super close with my people,” he says. “It’s just going to be important to have that really strong conscious effort to stay in touch … see how people are doing.”
In the meantime, Kelly has a new special someone in his life, someone he ran into in October. Now dating, he’s excited to share retirement with his girlfriend. He plans to buy an RV so they can travel half the year, and spend the other half at home.
Kelly, we wish you the best! May you have lots of new adventures as you chase sunsets, explore new places and enjoy what the world has to offer. You will be missed!
