Great Clips recently wrapped up a series of meetings that take place across the nation called Zone Meetings. At Zone Meetings, franchisees, general managers, managers, vendors and corporate staff come together to celebrate their successes and prepare for the future. One of the highlights of the meeting is the awards session, and while many achievements are recognized, it’s always fun and exciting to see which franchisee will receive the Franchisee Community Award.
The Franchisee Community Award is granted to a franchisee who exemplifies excellence in their local community and a commitment to the entire Great Clips system. Here are the recipients of this year’s award:
Jeff Lehman (Youngstown, Cleveland)
Jeff operates salons in two markets and is dedicated to the growth of the Great Clips brand in both markets. He is a true believer in organizing incredible community based programs. One program Jeff led was an “I Believe in Miracles” campaign where the local salons raised $40,000 for a prestigious local clinic with the check presented at halftime of a NFL game. Another program led by Jeff is the “Stuff the Bus” initiative, where franchisees and customers were able to collect tons of school supplies for needy kids. He also led local franchisees to provide free haircuts to veterans ahead of our upcoming systemwide Veterans Day initiative. Jeff believes wholeheartedly in serving the community, giving back and making sure Great Clips is viewed as a strong community partner.
Pete Gilreath (Nashville)
Pete organized his market to participate in haircuts at local sporting events each of the past two years and they raised over $30,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. A fellow franchisee sums up the efforts of our award winner best: “I have to think Great Clips would be quite pleased if every market was at this level of co-op participation, community engagement, brand building, combined with robust customer counts and market growth!”
Todd Mulbarger (Sacramento)
Todd is a true leader in his market and a true believer in organizing incredible community and market based programs. Having been a franchisee for nearly 20 years, Todd has re-energized himself and his market in the past two to three years. The activity and engagement is broad based, and powerful!
Todd believes wholeheartedly in connecting with the cosmetology school community, building the brand and making sure Great Clips is viewed as a strong community partner.
Gary and Barb Polk (Chicago, Milwaukee)
Gary and Barb have given so much to their market over the past 20 years. And, through their three children, the legacy of involvement in Great Clips will continue into the next generation. The Polks have tirelessly led the industry relations/recruiting effort in the largest market in the Great Clips system for years. Their efforts, even when not embraced by all franchisees in the formative years, now experience broad participation and full support of the market. The experience proves that hard work, commitment and a full belief in the power of the brand ultimately wins the game. In addition, the Polks recognized the power of working together and using size and scale of the market to negotiate programs that benefit all franchisees. For example, the salon office supplies program with Staples provides the opportunity for cosmetology scholarships systemwide.