Well, 2021 was a roller coaster of a year as we navigated the “new normal.” With new strains of COVID and the vaccines coming out, we’ve all been trying to do what’s best for ourselves and our family here at Border Foods. We had many leaders and role models step up and show outstanding performance throughout the year.

To show our appreciation, we’re taking these 87 “Best of the Best” team members and a guest of their choice on an all-expenses-paid vacation to:

Haven Riviera Cancún
Cancún, Mexico
March 30th-April 3rd 

Area Coaches:

Pete Ledum: Area 37
Felix Garcia: Area 15
Patrick Rahkonen: Area 38
Kelly Lawver: Area 19
Josh Miller: Area 21
Adam Wilson: Area 8
Heather Aos: Area 31
Frank Tuka: Area 22
Vince Wilhelm: Area 1
Jennifer Copeland: Area 20
Deb Fraser: Area 32
Tina Brown: Area 39
Alfredo Briones: Area 10
Jenn Coleman: Area 5

General managers 

Heather Schwartz: Willmar
Juli Froehlig: Buffalo
Jose Jimenez: Woodbury
Will White: Lowell
Jackie Lamoureux: Marinette
Gerardo Dominguez: Lake Street
Ryan Spindler: Alexandria
Kent Farris: St. Cloud
Josh Cushman: Albion
Deb Wilber: Fremont
Alyssa Harrison: Wyoming Blvd
Ismael Guzman: Bloomington
Sandy Avila: Richfield
Chad Zinda: Little Falls
Mike Hafer: Caledonia
Larry Irving: Minnetonka
Edna Sanchez: Edina
Mary St Clair: Maple Grove
Alicia Clement: Albertville
Lauryn Wilson: Division
Mevin Mora: Maple Grove Pkwy
Eric Ternand: Rogers
Araceli Aguilar: Hopkins
Marcus Amador: Jordan
Dean Ruhf: Iron Mountain
Vince Monreal: Deforest
Daniel Mulhair: Spearfish
Heidi Stottler: Monticello
Alvaro Medina: Chanhassen
Laura Swenson: Perryville
Brad Halverson: Stillwater
Vera Sanchez: Stinson
Travis Comnick: Hinckley
Nate Hamrick: Brainerd
AJ Love-Hamlin: Court Street
Melissa Naugle: Machesney Park
Faith Parks: Ionia
Bobbie Hansen: Pheasant Ridge
Chelsea Weaver: Sprinkle
Tony Beltran: River
Nicole Terry: Golden Valley
Karen Olson: Verona
Darlene Dant: Marshall
Brittany Caldwell: Monmouth
Alisha Burke: Billings – Grand Ave
Josh Nordberg: Billings – Central
Jeremy Stepp: Nicollet
Anne Kurich: 11th Street
Kevin Stimeling: Henderson Street
Nate Bowie: Lincoln Way
Lori Sumner: Allendale
Nate Martin: Chicago Ave
Justin Perry: Sturgis
Barb Bunney: North Street
Brittany Siebenaler: Robert Street
Angela Buffington: Crystal
Daniele Oliver: Hwy 14

Support StafF:

Evan Hatton: Analyst
Mary Haubrich: Accounts Payable Manager
Juli Sargent: Risk Manager
Becky Wenger: Heart of Border Foods
Max Corrigan: Heart of Border Foods

Region Coaches :

Pam Hare
Jarret Persons
Steve Daggett
Grant Schofield
Kasey Baeza
Craig Curit
LouAnn Hansen
Geison Cunha
Ken Lund

Circle of Excellence:

Dominic Pagan
Donald Mendoza

Border Foods likes to acknowledge a job well done; recognition is given to individuals and teams who go the extra mile. The Heart of Border Foods accolade is the pinnacle of awards — the highest form of recognition with in our company. It’s like a lifetime achievement award for Border Foods team members. Here, we announce this year’s winners. Congratulations!

2022 heart of border foods recipients:

Darlene Dant (32993 Marshall)

Becky Wenger (Territory Training Manager)

Vanessa Green (19622 Edinburgh)

Max Corrigan (Marketing & Analytics Manager)

Barb Bunney (27881 North Street)

LaVonne Whittemore (2892 Anoka)

Jenni Bang (Executive Assistant to Leadership)

Jeff Engler

Lee Engler

Aaron Engler

2020 was an unusual year for all of us, to say the least. But at Border Foods we are fortunate to have so many leaders and team members step up and show outstanding performance. We want to reward these sixty-six “Best of the Best” team members by taking them, and a guest of their choice, on an all expense paid vacation to Riviera Cancun Mexico. October 6th can’t come soon enough!

Area Coaches

Heather Aos: Area 31, MI
Miguel Avila: Area 18, MN
Alfredo Briones: Area 10, MN
Jenn Coleman: Area 5, MN
Geison Cunha: Area 26, MI
Steve Daggett: Area 7, MN
Tranquility Devereaux: Area 30, MI
Deb Fraser: Area 32, MN
Felix Garcia: Area 15, WY
Kelly Lawver: Area 19, IL
Pete Ledum: Area 37, MN
Chris McElroy: Area 29, MI
Josh Miller: Area 21, WI
Joe Motzko: Area 8, MN
CJ Schreifels: Area 4, MN
Lindsey Tibbals: Area 36, MI

General Managers

Araceli Agiular: Hopkins, MN
Marcus Amador: Jordan, MN
Sandy Aviles: Richfield, MN
Casey Bertrand: Rawlins, WY
Tina Brown: Albertville, MN
Tina Churchill: Cedar Springs, MI
Dan Clark: Fergus Falls, MN
Katie Cramer: Gull Road, MI
Darlene Dant: Marshall, MI
Kent Farris: St. Cloud, MN
Fernando Flores: Lake Street, MN
Juli Froehlig: Buffalo, MN
Luann Fuerstenberg: Sun Prairie, WI
Naomi Golden: Cloquet, MN
Ismael Guzman: Bloomington, MN
Nate Hamrick: Brainerd, MN
Alyssa Harrison: Wyoming Blvd, WY
Larry Irving: Minnetonka, MN
Chelsea James: Sprinkle, MI
Jose Jimenez: Woodbury, MN
Julius Johnson: Cascade, MI
Morgan Konecny: Albion, MI
Jackie Lamoureux: Marinette, MI
Greg McConkey: Allegan, MI
Jason McNeil: Northland, MI
Vince Monreal: De Forest, WI
Daniel Mulhair: Spearfish, SD
Karen Olson: Verona, WI
Brooke Paradine: Woodland Mall, MI
Faith Parks: Ionia, MI
Carla Pelligrini: Escanaba, MI
Todd Reid: Schofield, WI
Dean Ruhf: Iron Mountain, MI
Edna Sanchez: Edina, MN
Vera Sanchez: Stinson, MN
Heather Schwartz: Willmar, MN
Mike Shanor: Plymouth Station, MN
Jacob Skovgard: Sheridan, WY
Ryan Spindler: Alexandria, MN
Lori Sumner: N. Muskegon, MI
Laura Swenson: Perryville, IL
Nicole Terry: Golden Valley, MN
Nick Wallace: Hastings, MI
Will White: Lowell, MI
Lauryn Wilson: Division, MN
Nicole Zinther: Menominee, MI

SUPPORT STAFF

Corrine Kindred: HR Business Partner, WI
Brittany Rodda: Recruiter, MI
Angie Russo: Treasury Manager, MN
Aurora Tapia: Territory Training Manager, MN
Nathan Wenger: Construction Manager, MN

Building a strong team starts with each individual and so we like to acknowledge the team members who go the extra mile. We are proud to have a multitude of great teams and leaders worthy of awards. Our 2021 Rally recognized restaurants and individuals with outstanding service and hospitality for our guests, financial gains and improvements from 2020. Below are a few of the highlights of the year:

2020 Awards and Milestones

• Border Foods is bringing 66 team members on the Best of the Best trip to Mexico in October.
• 2384 Stinson, MN and 2395 Robert St., MN both had outstanding sales nearly $3.5 million! Seventeen more restaurants had more than $2.5 million in sales.
• Sixteen restaurants had efficient drive-through times below three minutes.
• We are proud of our wealth of tenure here at Border.  Thank you to Vivian Fields (40 years), Shelly Hart (35 years), Kelly Lawver (30 years), Ken Lund (30 years) and Rebecca Newton (30 years) for all of your service to Border Foods.

Of the Year Awards

Here at Border Foods, we like to honor our employees who go above and beyond what is expected of them. These team members are the leaders and role models who make Border such a great place to work. They understand people development, have a solid history of internal promotions and show they can master metrics. A few of our award winners of 2020 include:

Area Coach of the Year

Region Coach of the Year

Circle of Excellence

AC Circle of Excellence

Regional AGMs of the Year

Austyn Benbo (region 1)
Gerardo Dominguez (region 2)
Stacie Mountain (region3)
Rafael Guerrero (region 4)
Alvaro Medina (region 5)
Alvaro Medina (region5)
Sierra Hill (region 7)
Alexa Kokley (region 8)

Regional GMs of the Year

Jacob Skovgard (region 1)
Araceli Aguilar (region 2)
Jose Jimenez (region 3)
Vince Monreal (region 4)
Nicole Terry (region 5)
Chelsea James (region 6)
Lori Sumner (region 7)
Ryan Spindler (region 8)

GM of the Year

Jacob Skovgard (region 1)

Heart of border foods award

The Heart of Border Foods Award is like a lifetime achievement award for Border Foods team members. Congratulations to our 2021 recipients:

• Dani Guthrie
• Gay Demaree
• Corrine Kindred
• Steve Daggett
• Julius Johnson

Golden Bell Restaurants

Golden Valley, MN (#2421)
Edina, MN (#3308)
Lake Street, MN (#3371)
Vadnais Heights, MN (#4672)
Eden Prairie, MN (#5058)
Woodbury, MN (#20000)
Richfield, MN (#29688)
Hastings, MI (#33008)

Golden Bell Area Coach

Alfredo Briones of Minnesota

Signature Restaurants

Saint Paul, MN – Rice Street (#1398)
Minnetonka, MN (#2396)
Golden Valley, MN (#2421)
Rochester, MN  – Broadway-Rochester (#3307)
Edina, MN (#3308)
Saint Paul, MN – Snelling (#3314)
Bloomington, MN (#3333)
Brooklyn Center, MN (#3378)
Blaine, MN (#3379)
Burnsville, MN (#3929)
Winona, MN (#3994)
Vadnais Heights, MN (#4672)
Hudson, WI (#4900)
Saint Cloud, MN (#4907)
Eden Prairie, MN (#5058)
Alexandria, MN (#5470)
Eagan, MN (#5644)
Spearfish, SD (#27883)
Willmar, MN (#30499)
Buffalo, MN (#31015)
Hopkins, MN (#31682)
Schofield, WI (#31834)
De Forest, WI (#31965)
Machesney Park, IL (#31972)
Albertville, MN (#32573)
Grand Rapids, MN -Woodland Mall (#32983)
Coldwater, MI (#32989)
Marshall, MI (#32993)
Kalamazoo, MI – Airport (#32996)
Kalamazoo, MI – Sprinkle (#32998)
Kalamazoo, MI – 9th St (#33004)
Lowell, MI (#33007)
Hastings, MI (#33008)
Muskegon, MI – North Muskegon (#33011)
Kalamazoo MI – Gull Road (#33012)
Grand Rapids, MI – Northland (#33014)
Allegan, MI (#33025)
Albion, MI (#33026)
Wayland, MI (#33043)
Escanaba, MI (#33430)
Iron Mountain, MI (#33431)
Marinette, WI (#33433)
Menominee, MI (#33434)
Cloquet, MN (#33465)
Jordan, MN (#33465)
Oakdale, MN (#36305)
Galesburg, IL – Henderson St (#36359)
Lake Street, MN (#3371)

We are so excited to officially announce the 2020 Border Foods and Carol Williams Scholarship recipients!

The scholarships were created in tandem as a way to help Border Foods team members reach higher education goals. The Carol Williams Scholarship carries extra special meaning as it celebrates the memory, passion and dedication of our late VP of Operations, Carol Williams. (watch a quick clip about the scholarship).

This year, we awarded 10 team members with a collective $42,000! While we weren’t in-person due to COVID restrictions, we were able to connect on surprise Zoom calls with every recipient. Be sure to watch their reactions in this year’s video below.

We’re so proud of our new scholarship winners, and we look forward to watching you pursue your dreams with our support.

2020 Carol Williams Scholarship Recipients; $5,500 each:

• Bryn Disch, Deforest, WI
• Harley Evans-Goods, Muskegon, MI
• Joseph Van Acker, Alexandria, MN
• Olivia McKimmy, Marshall, MI
• Jamie Riddle, Deforest, WI

2020 Border Foods Scholarship Recipients; $3,000 each:

• Elaina Lucas, Fridley, MN
• Taytem Hebenstreit, Marshall, MI
• Samuel Manahan, Faribault, MN
• Summara Dycus, Riverton, WY
• William Spielmaker, Kalamazoo, MI

Every year, we celebrate our accomplishments at our company-wide rallies. It’s a time to come together, recognize the successes of the past year, and look forward to the year ahead. This year, we gathered teams in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin for three days full of recognition. Congratulations to all of our Of the Year winners and others who were honored this year!

minnesota

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

 

When it comes to working at Border Foods, one thing’s for sure: We’re about more than just making tacos (although let’s admit it, our tacos are pretty dang tasty). This month marked the inaugural unveiling of the Border Foods and Carol Williams Scholarship recipients — an event that took our scholars by complete surprise as Border leaders traveled to a few locations to deliver checks and celebrate with friends and family.

The scholarships were created in tandem as a way to help Border Foods team members reach higher education goals. The Carol Williams Scholarship carries extra special meaning as it celebrates the memory, passion and dedication of Carol — the founder of our family culture — who passed away last year (watch a quick clip about the scholarship).

“We’re so grateful to see this scholarship come to fruition,” said Krysta Corrigan, Carol’s daughter, about the Carol Williams Scholarship. “My mom had a huge heart for her employees. She would be honored and so thankful to know that she had an opportunity to impact their lives outside of Border Foods.”

Scholarship applications opened in the spring with a few requirements to apply. Recipients needed to be actively pursuing secondary education and have been employed for at least six months, averaging an 18-hour work week (as of the application deadline). After we received applications, we worked with International Scholarship and Tuition Services (a third-party vendor) to help us make recipient decisions.

“When we sat down to develop this scholarship, we did it with one goal in mind: to provide a resource for you to further your education,” Lee Engler, CEO, said in a family letter to scholars. “With a mission to Make Lives Better, we truly feel like this gift will do just that.”

Congratulations to these Carol Williams scholars, each receiving $5,500:

• Wyatt Plavan – Greenville, MI
• Ian Herman – Fitchburg, WI
• Daejynae Sumrell – Gains, MI

Congratulations to these Border Foods scholars, each receiving $3,000:

• Brianna Talaska – Allendale, MI
• Brittney Jordan –  Casper, WY
• Tommy Holloway – Cloquet, MN
• Ryan Little – Middleton, WI
• Kevin Hegna – Buffalo, MN

I know that I need an education in order to better myself and better my family,” said scholar Tommy Holloway. “Thank you for believing in me.”

As a way to say “thanks” to our top-performing operators, we’re taking more than 70 leaders and a guest of their choice on an all-expense paid trip to Mexico! From April 10-14, our “Best of the Best” team will enjoy time with their team and guest at Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort, an all-inclusive hotel located on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Congratulations to the team below:

Alfredo Briones: 3333-Bloomington
Juli Froehlig: 31015-Buffalo
Dylan Schlueter: 5714-Monticello
Will White: 33007-Lowell
Heather Schwartz: 30499-Willmar
Greg Howard: 32302-Brookings
Ziggy Arrington: 31430-Minnesota Ave
Ryan Spindler: 33440-Fergus Falls
Danny Grovenstein: 23073-Laramie
Laura Swenson: 31971-Perryville
Daniel Mulhair: 27883-Spearfish
Carla Pellegrini: 33430-Escanaba
Miguel Avila: 31682-Hopkins
Amanda Schlee: 33044-Frutiport
Jessi Wiggins: 33003-Whitehall
Shon McCullough: 32993-Marshall
Nathan Bowie: 23077-Wyoming Blvd
Beth Danielson: 5580-Northfield
Melissa Naugle: 31967-Forest Plaza
Jeremy Stepp: 3929-Nicollet
Jose Jimenez: 20000-Woodbury
Christa Blanco: 23080-Riverton
Mark Robertson:16318-Hutchinson
Nate Hamrick: 9647-Brainerd
John Bradley: 32996-Airport
Tina Brown: 32573-Albertville
Amanda Hobbs: 1398-Rice Street-AAC
Peter Ledum: 33635-Jordan
Connie Horan: 33027-Sherman
Chris Platz: 33020-Gaines
Dean Detienne: 5290-Menomonie WI
Fernando Flores: 3371-Lake Street
Vera Sanchez: 2384-Stinson
Maria Flores: 3310-Franklin
Andrea Ramirez: 20117-Fridley
Greg McConkey: 33025-Allegan
Amanda Nordby: AAC A3
Hanna Wright: AAC, 33011-North Muskegon
Kelly Lawver: Area 4
Felix Garcia: Area 15
Steve Daggett: Area 7
Deb Fraser: Area 32
Heather Aos: Area 31
Nic Gerry: Area 13
Zack Shumaker: Area 14
Jarret Persons: Area 10
Shalesha Olson: Area 6
Rich Ruuti: Area 23
LouAnn Hansen: Area 24
Grant Schofield: Area 9
Vince Wilhelm: Area 1
Jeff Weiler: Area 4
Richelle Johnson: Area 3
Tranquility Sampier: Area 30
Robin Jones: Area 16
Pam Hare: Region 1
Gay Demaree: Region 2
Ken Lund: Region 3
Craig Curit: Region 5
Vince Bosscher: Region 6
Corrine Kindred: HR Business Partner
Heather Knight: HR Business Partner
Jesse Evangelist: Employment Brand Specialist
Max Corrigan: Financial Analyst
Zach Zinter: Sr. Facilities Manager
David Ziemer: Restaurant Technology Manager