Danny Reed, Area Supervisor
A Story of Choice
My McDonald’s Journey began in the summer of 1988. My team just lost out of the American Legion playoffs, and I wanted to start driving. I was 16 and my dad told me I needed to get a job. I put an application in at Walmart without success. I had a friend Rusty who played on my baseball team who urged me to apply at the McDonald’s in Port Allen where he worked. So, I reluctantly completed an application and was hired by Arnold Lirette.
I started out as a grill cook but quickly moved up to calling Production “The Box” within six months. I had a knack for anticipating rushes and keeping the product available to meet our high demand. This McDonald’s had the highest sales volume of any location between Texas and Florida. I remember working a night shift with a manager named Malcom Butler and we talked about my career aspirations. I told him I was planning to go to college and that McDonald’s was just a temporary job until I finished college. I remember his advice that if I worked there, I needed to be in a leadership position. I was already a crew trainer, so this piqued my interest. I thought with playing sports this opportunity was not available, but he assured me that was not the case.
My leadership journey began as I was promoted to the Training Coordinator of the restaurant at 17 years old. I oversaw the entire crew training program, assigning the training of new and older employees to specific trainers. Our crew staffing ranged from 110-120 employees, so this was a huge responsibility for me at an early age. I took the challenge head on with a lot of resistance from trainers who were older than me and had more experience than me. Nervous but excited, I conducted my first crew trainer meeting with the support of the training manager. I remember the words my dad preached… “Always treat people with respect and the way you wanted to be treated…Live by the golden rule.” I quickly won the team over, and they had to make me stop calling them sir and ma’am. I was off to the races and was promoted to Swing Manager the spring semester of my senior year in high school. I bought my first truck at 17 years old, having paid cash money for a Toyota pickup truck.
After graduating high school, I enrolled at LSU and majored in mechanical engineering continuing to work at McDonald’s as a swing manager and capitalizing on our scholarship program. Before graduating LSU, I had a life changing moment that changed my life and changed my career path. The two most important male figures in my life passed away within a year, my grandfather and my father who lost a short battle with cancer but hung on to watch me walk across the stage at graduation. Once again, I was at a crossroad in my career path, an Engineering job in Baytown Texas or McDonald’s, a job I truly loved, because it allowed me to have infinite amount of impact on young people. My mom had slipped into a battle with depression, so it made the choice a lot easier. I needed to be close to home. I met with the owner and was placed on a fast-track program to become a General Manager.
I was quickly promoted to General Manager after improving multiple stores as a first assistant. The first store I managed was Drusilla under the supervision of Drake Konow. I managed other locations while developing people through effective coaching and mentoring. While a general manager, I had four assistants that became general managers. I was promoted to Area Supervisor on August 1, 2005, and supervised 4-6 restaurants throughout the years.
I always tried to operate under these rules:
- Treat people the way you want to be treated.
- Respect others and they will respect you.
- Never forget where you came from.
- Put your time and energy into developing your people.
- Coaching is an opportunity to build a relationship.
In conclusion: McDonald’s was not my first choice but my best choice.