We caught up with dedicated Service and Food Champion Brenda Foley in Cancún, Mexico, where she was enjoying some well-deserved beachside relaxation — on us! Brenda, a 30-year veteran with our company, won time away from her Taco Bell family in Stillwater, MN, as one of this year’s Heart of Border Foods (HOBF) recipients.

“Brenda cares a lot about people,” HR Business Partner Richelle Johnson shares in the award reveal video. “People who work with her, she’s kind of like a mom to all of those kids in Stillwater.”

 The Heart of Border Foods Award is about taking care of others, family and teamwork.

On Becoming Our Beloved Brenda

Brenda takes us back to her beginning with Border Foods. She shares that her career here started when she was babysitting for a restaurant manager who thought she should come work for her at Taco Bell. Starting as a Service Champion, Brenda recalls working the restaurant lobby for her first five years alongside another revered Border Foods veteran, Sr. Safety & Risk Manager Juli Sargent.

She was a young, single mom at the time. For Brenda, Taco Bell proved to be a great fit (her words, not ours). The champion role offered flexibility for young parents — and later, the very same flexibility was available as she navigated personal health issues.

She’s had several great mentors along the way — and the same has definitely been said about her! Over her three decades with us, Brenda has been offered other internal positions and promotions, some of which she’s turned down. She says she was always certain she didn’t want to get “stuck in an office.”

According to her, it’s rare to work for a company like Border Foods. “They don’t push,” she explains. “They make sure that you’re ready and that, if it’s not a ‘right fit’ for you, it’s not a right fit.”

It IS like a family … they think about you.

Brenda Foley, Service & Food Champion

Being supported and mentored throughout the years has helped Brenda to develop into the loved leader she is today. It’s also certainly given her the kind of fulfillment that keeps her beaming light shining so bright for her team and all the restaurant regulars. People come in to the Stillwater Taco Bell just to see her!

Thinking about the Big 3-0

Thirty years with one company is a supreme commitment. What does Brenda think about the milestone?

She recalls a time early on when she met someone who’d been with Border Foods for five years. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that you’ve been there for five years!’” she recounts. “And here I am, my 30 years!”

When asked what’s next for her, Brenda responds, “Just to be who I am still and keep continuing to mentor.“

At Border Foods, we’re proud to be the kind of employer that allows its team members to be their authentic selves.

“I hope I have a lot of good years left to stay [here],” Brenda adds.

Congratulations on your 30-year service anniversary, Brenda! You’ve been a delight to many, and we’re so fortunate to have positive people like you that the next generation can look up to.  

Our annual Best of the Best (BOTB) reward trip has once again come and gone, but we’re still reveling in all the fun times we had! The closing Sunset Toast celebration is our grand finale, where we hand out a host of “Fun Awards” designed to capture the on-the-spot creativity only time away from work can inspire!

Thank you to the following individuals for bringing some extra enthusiasm to the beach (and for giving us reason to come up with this lighthearted list of awards):

Most Unique Homemade T-shirts for Travel Day

Crystal Kovach, Accounts Payable Specialist

Matching Swimsuits & Celebration Attire

Heather Aos, Area Coach

Most Social

Lindsay Mitchell, RGM, E. Main Street, Illinois

Marketing Champion (Donning Taco Bell Attire)

Alyssa Harrison, RGM, Wyoming Blvd., Casper, WY

Best Hat

Joshua Miller, Area Coach

 

 

Congratulations to this year’s Taco Bell Live Más Scholarship recipients from Border Foods Taco Bells! This ambitious group proves that there are zero limits to what you can do with your future. Representing nine exciting career interests, they work hard and study harder! 

What’s really inspiring is their common desire to help others. First-time $25,000 award recipient Angie Acosta plans to become an ER nurse. She’s determined to contribute to better health care access and also, being bilingual, help break down language barriers.

“My passion is being a caregiver,” she says. “I just really love helping others and giving effective care to everyone, regardless of the situation or the setting.”

Daria Kianian, another new recipient with $10,000 in Live Más support, dreams of becoming a genetic counselor. She’s already making a difference as co-president of her school’s Red Cross Club. Their fall blood drive brought in enough donations to save 180 lives!

Apply, Win, Repeat

This year, our Live Más scholars have landed a combined total of $155,000 in well deserved educational support from the Taco Bell Foundation! Some are brand new, others are repeat winners — regardless, the impact is enormous.

I see the end of one path in the distance, but with it, the beginning of another.

-Jayden Beach, Technology

Previous recipient Tamera Afraid of Lightening had just convinced herself that she must not have won this year the day we surprised her. She was elated!

Tamera is a single working mom who had been commuting to college but, recently discovered her program was now available at a school closer to home, so she switched. But the downside of proximity was that tuition was more expensive.

“This scholarship will put less of a financial burden on me,” she explains. “it will let me perform and be a great student, it will let me be a great mother who can be there physically for her son … and it will also help me be a great employee so I can balance my work, mom and student life.”

Jayden Beach, also a repeat winner, is in his final stretch of college. He’s been awarded $25,000! With two semesters left, he’s looking for jobs in the technology field. 

“None of this would have been possible without the Live Más Scholarship,” he says. “And I will forever be thankful for what I’ve been able to accomplish so far.”

This kind of impact never gets old. We’re so proud to be associated with the Taco Bell Foundation! Congratulations to this year’s fab 13!

$25,000

Angie Acosta, Medicine NEW!
Jayden Beach, Technology

$15,000

Rashida James, Medicine

$10,000

Brenden Ohlemacher-Lonetti, Criminal Justice NEW!
Daria Kianian, Science NEW!
Isabella Rodriguez, Beauty & Fashion NEW!
JayLa Bohanon, Medicine NEW!
Johnathan Tribby, Music NEW!
Kaleb Teshome, Engineering NEW!
Khoa Le, Science NEW!
Tamera Afraid of Lightening, Medicine

$5,000

Matthew Fogg, Technology NEW!
Rebecca Murphy, Food  NEW!

You might say our 2024 Best of the Best reward trip was the most engaging one yet! It was our pleasure to treat 72 hardworking individuals and their guests to five days of R&R in paradise at Secrets of Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres in Cancun, Mexico. Let’s just say, lots of fun was had!

About BOTB

Each year, we honor our commitment to giving recognition where it’s due by plucking a deserving group of Area Coaches (AC), Restaurant General Managers (RGM) and support staff out of the restaurant or office scene and flying them to an island in the sun. This year’s adventure included delicious dinners, exciting excursions, and plenty of time to kick back to relax and enjoy the ocean breeze. We can’t be the best of the best at what we do without these amazing people, and this annual reward trip is how we properly convey that gratitude!

The Ultimate Side Story

One thing that was not on our official agenda, proved to be the most memorable.

Two of Border’s very own got engaged during the trip! RGM Johnathan Leaf proposed to (now fiancé) Kaela Wrobel, Assistant General Manager (AGM) of our Little Falls, MN Taco Bell. There aren’t enough exclamation points in the world to properly convey our excitement! Johnathan got down on one knee at the beach while cameras captured the iconic moment. It was truly a best of the best kind of moment.

We hope to see YOU on the beach at BOTB this time next year! Cheers to another amazing season of (much-deserved) relaxation and recognition.

 

 

We’re shining a spotlight on Chris McElroy in honor of his recent promotion to Technology Coordinator for Border Foods! Chris joins the technology department from the operations division, where he was Area Coach of Area 29 in Michigan (yes, he’s a Detroit Lions fan). Chris joined us in 2017, having previously worked as an Above Store Leader (ASL) for a food service chain located in Tennessee.

The people I’ve met and the leadership skills I’ve learned [at Border Foods] have made me a better person personally and professionally.

Chris McElroy, Technology Coordinator

As our Technology Coordinator, Chris says he’s most looking forward to reaching a larger audience within Border Foods, and growing his capabilities in the tech space. His goals are to 1) achieve new career success, 2) continue to support the field and 3) contribute to our financial excellence. Hey, we’ll take it! Congratulations, Chris, on this much-deserved new role.

We’re celebrating 30 years of Territory Training Manager Melissa Naugle with Taco Bell! She may have started under a different franchisee, but Melissa has spent the better part of her illustrious career with us here at Border Foods. In fact, if you ask her, Melissa will tell you she wished she had known about our company sooner!

Melissa joined Taco Bell in 1994 as a Team Member, like so many others, looking to earn some money. It was a time of transition for her, as she was navigating divorce with a young child in tow. 

“I’ve always enjoyed the fast food industry,” she says. “I like to be on my toes.” She quickly discovered she could have a fulfilling career with Taco Bell.

“Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help.” – Melissa Naugle, Territory Training Manager

Finding a Confidant in Border Foods

In 2015, we acquired the Taco Bell restaurant in Rockford, IL where Melissa was working. While Melissa acknowledges the change felt scary at the time, she learned that opportunity begins at the end of your comfort zone. “It was really smooth,” she says of the onboarding process at Border Foods. That was thanks to the strong leadership of our celebrated Taco Bell operator, the late Carol Williams.

“She just made you feel so comfortable,” Melissa says of Carol. “It was just her presence. You could talk to her.”

By this point in her career, Melissa was working in the Restaurant General Manager (RGM) role and says she lucked out joining the Border Foods family. “They’re always willing to help you, no matter what,” she says. “I felt like I was home.”

Border Foods want[s] to see you succeed.

Melissa Naugle, Territory Training Manager

Train or Remain the Same

Melissa has always loved training people, and set a goal as RGM to have her restaurant become a training location, so the Territory Training Manager position was a perfect fit. “When the opportunity came, I interviewed for it,” she says. Her favorite part of the job is seeing people grow in their career. 

“I can look around and say, I helped that person,” she says of her impact.

As a Territory Training Manager, Melissa supports restaurants by conducting CORE walk throughs (surprise visits three times a year), meeting with Area Coaches (ACs) and taking time to develop new RGMs. 

Melissa is thriving in this role. “It’s just the atmosphere — I [can] succeed doing what I love to do,” she says. 

This self-professed introvert is happy in her current role, and recharges in the quiet of her home after a successful day’s work. “I can’t sit around, so I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully retire,” she says of her future plans. We look forward to celebrating many more work anniversaries, Melissa! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been busy celebrating all the amazing people who help make us the best in the business year after year. Today we’re honoring our Heart of Border Foods (HOBF) winners for exemplifying the positive attitude, dedication and family culture at the core of our business. The Heart of Border Foods Award is one of the highest honors a person can achieve within our company. Huge congratulations to this year’s worthy winners!

Richelle Johnson

It’s no surprise that a woman described as having “the heart of the people” is one of our HOBF winners. Richelle is an authentic team player who’s developed an impressive career with Border Foods and now helps do the same for her peers.

Tony Christiansen

Tony is someone who makes everybody feel like a somebody. Whether you’re a team member or a guest, you can feel welcome in Tony’s orbit. This Taco Bell “father figure” embodies our family core value.

Brenda Foley

A 29-year veteran of Border Foods, Brenda has been described as the heart of our Stillwater Taco Bell. And it’s easy to see why! A consistent supporter of her community and “Taco Bell Mom,” Brenda is a caring mentor to anyone lucky enough to cross her path.

Congratulations are in order for this impressive group of Area Coaches (ACs) whose commitment and drive was recently honored with our Circle of Excellence Award! Positive, helpful, team player — these are all character traits shared by this special group of ACs. We could not be the best of the best at what we do without their hard work and dedication.

Constance “Connie” Horan

Connie truly goes above and beyond for her team AND other teams within the Border Foods family. And she does it all with a smile. Described as “a ray of sunshine,” there’s no day (or restaurant) she can’t brighten.  

Aaron Mechtel-Kilborn

Aaron sets career goals and immediately works hard to achieve them. And he doesn’t stop there! Aaron has established himself as a helper, often lending a hand to other Border Foods team members outside of his restaurant. Truly living our teamwork core value! 

Lori Sumner

Described as a passionate go-getter, Lori empowers her team to bring their best to the job every day. She embodies the growth mindset that helps everyone in her orbit succeed. Excellence personified!

LouAnn Hansen

A compassionate team player, LouAnn is dedicated to living out our core values in everything she does. She’s a natural–born teacher in the AC role and a fierce advocate for the Border Foods culture we’re so proud of. 

Recognition is one of the pillars to success here at Border Foods, which is why we’re thrilled to celebrate this year’s “of the year” award winners. Congratulations to the following hard working group of leaders!

AC of the Year

Angela Love-Hamlin

Genuine, willing to help, always smiling. These are common descriptors when talking about Area Coach Angela “AJ” Love–Hamlin, which makes it easy to see why she was awarded our AC of the Year accolade. We’re thankful to have you captain our team, Angela!

RC of the Year

Nathan Besler

Nathan Besler is a genuine leader who has truly blossomed in the Region Coach role. Nathan’s quiet confidence and excellent communication skills made him a natural choice for RC of the Year.

RGM of the Year

Brenda Gillispie

Restaurant General Manager Brenda Gillispie is a goal-oriented, avid learner with a gift for connection. Thank you for teaching us all how to be the best we can be, Brenda!