Heather King-Haas's Page

I LOVE Our Industry!

B. Mark Paul, senior vice president for investments with UBS Financial Services Inc. and the Carrigan•Paul•Ferguson Group, in Dallas:
"My greatest memory of Norman (Brinker) was when I was roughly 14 years old working with my mother and father in our first franchised/joint ventured Steak & Ale in Maitland, Fla.
There was about to be a major meeting of managers in Dallas. At that time, there were only 13 units in the country. I was sure I wanted to go and basically told my father that I had spoken with Harold Deem, one of Norman's original partners, and he said that I could come.
For whatever reason, my father took my word for it and said, 'you’re going.’ I had the greatest experience of my young career in those sessions that were scheduled, with Norman mainly leading the charge. That was, until my father and Harold confronted me regarding the scam I had run to get out there. I lived through that and would have done it all over again, if I could have!
The next thing I know, Norman is in Orlando to visit our restaurant and comes into the unit with a perfectly sized double-breasted red suit coat with the Steak & Ale patch for me to wear while running the floor and said, 'If you are going to do this job, you are going to need to look the part!'
My parents took some time to bring me down to earth! I will never forget the thoughtfulness that this represented and the impact that had on me. My 17 years with Steak & Ale were certainly some of the best in my life."
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