McDonald : The Courtesy Corporation Makes Community a Priority

Rick and Dick Lommen go above and beyond to connect with the local communities near their restaurants in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin

Dick bought his first McDonald's restaurant in May 1968. He worked at McDonald's since he was 15 and when his first restaurant became available for purchase, he decided to take the chance in being an owner-operator. Rick later joined him in 1996 and they now own 61 restaurants in communities across Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. While their organization grew, their desire to stay connected to their local communities remained the same. To ensure this was done successfully, they decided to create teams dedicated to overseeing the marketing, human resources, technology training and bilingual translation of all of their restaurants. In addition to the restaurant staff, they now have a team dedicated to helping run each and every one of their restaurants. A main priority for them? You guessed it - staying connected to their communities. Each quarter they develop a newsletter called 'The Good Within' that is distributed to over 4,000 of their employees and 1,000 community leaders and organizations. It highlights the great things that their restaurants have done within their local communities.

The first quarter of 2018 newsletter highlighted a variety of events that gave back to the community, including:

Big Mac Contest
As part of a Family and Consumer Science/Health Class, more than 300 students from 12 high schools in Wisconsin were challenged to recreate the Big Mac sauce and use their creation in a unique recipe of their choosing. The Courtesy Corporation visited each classroom to taste test the recipes and chose a group to win free Big Macs for a year.

Lunch Celebration
In partnership with a local car dealership in Wisconsin who surprised a single mother with a new car and free gas for a year, the Courtesy Corporation provided lunch for the family to honor the celebration.

Employee Award
The Courtesy Corporation honored a 10-year crew member who was recently recognized by the local Chamber of Commerce for her outstanding service.

Archways to Opportunity
The Courtesy Corporation highlighted five of their employees who are a part of the Archways to Opportunity program, a comprehensive education program that provides eligible employees at participating U.S. restaurants an opportunity to earn a high school diploma, receive upfront college tuition assistance, access free education advising services and learn English as a second language.

Shamrock Shake Contest
To get the community excited about the release of the limited-time Shamrock Shake, the Courtesy Corporation developed a Facebook contest that asked customers to like their Facebook page and tag a friend who is the shamrock in their life. The winning family was awarded a St. Patrick's Day party complete with decorations, food and of course Shamrock Shakes.

Student Networking Event
In partnership with local Human Resources students from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, Western Technical College and Viterbo University, the Courtesy Corporation hosted a networking event for the students and area professionals to learn more about interviewing and social skills.

Coffee with a Cop
The Courtesy Corporation hosted a 'Coffee with a Cop' session where community members had the opportunity to get to know their local police officers over coffee.

To learn more about all of the great things the Courtesy Corporation is doing, please visit: http://www.mccourtesy.com/