Friendship Kitchen Honors Employees at Annual Banquet

The 6th Annual Friendship Employee Recognition Banquet was held on November 9th, 2022 in Gibsonburg, Ohio at Ole Zim’s Wagon Shed. Friendship Kitchen has been a customer of Burkett for nearly a decade, with Jordon Swartz being the dedicated account manager for the company.

“I enjoy working with Tam and the Friendship Kitchen team because
of how easy they are to communicate with, you talk to a person every time you call and I can appreciate that!  I’m excited about their growth and I can’t wait to see what they have in their future” says Swartz.   “They started as a small family company, just like Burkett did, it’s like the two Toledo-based family companies have grown up together.”

Friendship’s booming growth hasn’t stopped them from their ‘culture
first’ mentality and in fact, it’s a top priority with their employees.  “Their culture first mentality, in my opinion, is what really drives their success and attracts some truly talented and friendly people who are the backbone of the company” Jordon further explains.

For the last several years Burkett has sponsored the Friendship Employee Recognition Banquet, and this year was just as fun as every year in the past! Burkett has the opportunity to sponsor many events, but this event is different. All sponsors of the Friendship Employee Recognition Banquet are invited to the luncheon to participate in the raffle, and they do a great job at making it fun for everyone. 

Over the course of the year, employees from over 30 Friendship Kitchen locations are nominated through customer feedback, top performers, meeting company standards, and outstanding customer service. Nearly 200 employees attended the event each year, many with multiple nominations. For every nomination, their name is entered into the raffle with a ticket. Played like a reverse raffle, every employee gets a prize for their nomination, with the grand prize being $2,000 in cash.

Everyone loves a comfy Friendship sweatshirt, but who doesn’t love $2,000 in cash as a prize? The company awards these nominees with a wide variety of prizes; from hoodies to $100 gift cards, televisions, appliances, and cash, cash cash! As fun as the event was, it was even more enlightening to see the pride on the employee’s faces as they were recognized for their efforts over the year. What better way to show your appreciation than with a day off to attend the event, gifts, food, and recognition from their leadership teams.

Other Platinum sponsors, along with Burkett, included Coke, DAS, EB Brown, MCI/Yingling, Monster, Pepsi, Red Bull