Sandy Holland, a 20-year employee of McDonald's, works the drive through Monday morning in Ringgold, Ga. Holland recently won "Crew Member of the Year" out of 85,000 eligible crew members in the company's eastern district.
Workers search a McDonald's restaurant in Ringgold, Ga. Thursday, April 28, 2011, after a tornado slammed into the area Wednesday. Seven people were killed in Georgia's Catoosa County, including Ringgold, where a suspected tornado flattened about a dozen buildings and trapped an unknown number of people.RINGGOLD, Ga. -- When a tornado destroyed the McDonald's restaurant on Alabama Highway the night of April 27, crew member Sandy Holland went to see if anyone was hurt.
But authorities turned her back.
So Holland went home and got on Facebook and the phone to make sure her 60 co-workers were all right.
"We had accounted for everybody that night," said Holland, who kept what she calls her McFamily updated for months as the storm-damaged McDonald's was bulldozed and replaced with a larger restaurant that opened Sept. 30.
Holland's commitment to her co-workers is one reason why she was recognized last week as the worker of the year for McDonald's eastern division, which employs 85,000 crew members.
"She helped organize our crew meeting to bring us all back together after this tragic event," store manager Kelley Hollis wrote in a letter nominating Holland for the honor, which comes with a $500 prize.
Holland began working for McDonald's 20 years ago because the job's flexible scheduling let her be home when her daughter Misty's second-grade class got out.
"To hear some of [my co-workers] tell it, I've been here since Moses," joked Holland, who socializes with her colleagues at such things as baby showers and meals out.
"It makes it easier when you're friends outside the store to work inside the store," she explained.
Holland and her husband, Tim, have lived for 43 years in Ringgold, so she knows many customers by name -- as well as what they do for a living, where they live, their pets' names, and whether they're on restricted diets for diabetes or other maladies.
"I know what they're supposed to eat, and what they're not supposed to eat," Holland said. "I'll say, you can't have that.'"
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at timomarzu@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6651.