Bob Ruckriegel Receives First Jim Patterson Founder’s Award LOUISVILLE, Ky. September 29, 2016 – Long John Silver’s held its national convention with the theme “True North” this week in Louisville, Ky.

1.
Media
Contact
Emily
Olesh
Emily@RunSwitchPR.com
(812)
276-­‐5808
Long
John
Silver’s
National
Convention
Features
New
Branding
and
New
Founder’s
Award
Bob
Ruckriegel
Receives
First
Jim
Patterson
Founder’s
Award
LOUISVILLE,
Ky.
(September
29,
2016)
–
Long
John
Silver’s
held
its
national
convention
with
the
theme
“True
North”
this
week
in
Louisville,
Ky.
The
nation’s
leading
quick-­‐service
seafood
restaurant
unveiled
a
new
branding
strategy
and
logo
to
more
than
400
attendees
including
franchisees
and
vendors.
Long
John
Silver’s
also
gave
away
many
first-­‐time
awards
including
a
Jim
Patterson
Founder’s
Award,
named
after
the
man
who
founded
the
brand
in
1969.
One
session
of
the
convention
kicked
off
screening
clips
from
the
brand’s
new
multi-­‐faceted
digital
campaign
featuring
Steve
Connell,
which
was
released
to
the
public
this
summer.
The
leadership
team
presented
a
new
updated
logo
along
with
the
brand
strategy
during
a
new
uniform
fashion
show
featuring
the
Long
John
Silver’s
television
spokesperson,
Kenneisha
Thompson.
“This
brand
has
been
around
for
47
years,
so
we
were
careful
to
stay
true
to
our
roots
and
our
core
customers
while
introducing
something
fresh
and
new,”
said
Marilyn
Nicholson,
Vice
President
of
Marketing,
Media
&
Promotions.
This
marked
the
first
year
for
the
Jim
Patterson
Founder’s
Award,
given
for
possessing
great
qualities
of
leadership
and
loyalty.
Bob
Ruckriegel
accepted
the
award
during
the
closing
night
gala
alongside
his
wife,
Lovella
Ruckriegel.
“When
Long
John
Silver’s
came
along,
he
jumped
aboard
quickly
and
aggressively
opened
stores,”
said
Jim
Patterson,
founder
of
Long
John
Silver’s.
“There
was
no
question
about
who
deserved
it.”
Chris
Walsh
and
Diane
Oney
were
given
the
Admiral’s
award
for
outstanding
accomplishments
as
franchisees.
The
Franchise
Association
Board
awarded
Bill
Brewer
with
the
Chairman’s
award.
Other
honorees
included
the
Next
Generation
Award
winners
Frank
Kapfhammer,
Jimmy
Goodnight,
Randy
Henn
and
Bill
Brewer.
Additionally,
Griffith
Foods
was
named
Supplier
of
the
Year;
Performance
Foods,
Marketer
of
the
Year;
and
Richard
Levitt
with
Nellis
Seafood
received
the
Navigator’s
Award.
The
Culinary
Innovation
Award
recipient
was
Bob
Jenkins,
Charter
Foods,
Inc.;
the
Development
Award
was
Eric
Estes,
Estes
Enterprises,
Inc.,
the
Profitability
Award
was
James
McCann
and
Dave
Chapman
with
Treasures
Isles,
Inc.
Randy
Henn
received
the
Street
Fighter
Award
for
marketing
accomplishments;
Polly
Novak-­‐Balzer
received
the
Marketing
Partner
Award
and
the
Field
Management
Award
recipient
was
Oscar
Salinas.

2.
Team
Award
winners
include:
Toni
Bianco,
Jeff
Titlow,
Joe
Harris,
Carl
Casalino,
James
Fultz
and
Stephen
Robles.
Anniversary
Award
winners
include:
Bob
Ruckriegel
(47
Years),
Estate
of
Herbert
Coleman
(44
Years),
Nellis
Seafood
Holding
Co.,
L.L.C.
(44
Years),
Ronald
Switzer
(44
Years),
Wayne
Gaunce
(44
Years),
Gail
Hayes
(43
Years),
Randy
Henn
(38
Years),
Joseph
Feeney
(33
Years),
Joseph
Oleinik
(32
Years),
Edward
Wong
(26
Years),
James
Goodnight
(26
Years),
Susan
Myles
(26
Years),
Kathy
Dziewa
(23
Years),
Gary
Ebersole
(21
Years),
Diane
Oney
(20
Years),
and
Bill
Brewer
(20
Years).
One-­‐million-­‐dollar
store
awards
include:
Bob
Mathias,
Annette
Gibson,
Jeff
Brackevelt,
Lori
Picken,
Mary
Flores,
Kevin
Matuska,
David
Bell,
Marisella
Olbera,
Enrique
Nesmith,
Sandy
Selby,
Kim
Haag,
Greta
Moore,
Sue
Laher,
Sandy
Vavrek,
Fanice
Henderson,
Dee
Dee
Vandivier,
Noah
Eads,
Claudia
Rodriguez,
Melissa
Newman,
Mark
Bernal,
Patrick
McKenzie,
Mark
Coats,
Kim
Balaban,
Rae
Torres,
Tonya
Klovanish,
Jessica
Fannon,
Alex
Schafer,
and
Deirdre
Ephriam.
Captain’s
Award
winners
include:
Annette
Gibson,
Bob
Mathias,
Colleen
Keith,
Cruz
Razo,
Jason
Mertens,
Julia
McGowan,
Kevin
Matuska,
Melanie
Schrum,
Michelle
Sizemore,
Robert
Finley,
and
Ventura
Saldana.
Lent
Season
Award
winners
include:
Annette
Gibson,
Mark
Schmidt,
Bob
Mathias,
Helen
Walker,
Mariselle
Olbera,
and
Ray
Green.
OSAT
Award
winners
include:
Colleen
Keith,
Karen
Corrado,
Frances
Woods,
Brian
Wood,
and
Melanie
Schrum.
[High
res
photos
available
upon
request]
About
Long
John
Silver’s:
Long
John
Silver’s
is
a
classic
American
brand
founded
in
1969,
and
stands
today
as
the
nation’s
largest
quick-­‐service
seafood
chain
with
more
than
1,000
restaurants
in
the
U.S.
Long
John
Silver’s
is
famous
for
its
pure,
wild-­‐caught
Alaskan
whitefish
hand-­‐dipped
in
our
signature
batter
and
lightly
fried
to
golden
perfection.
Learn
more
at
www.ljsilvers.com
or
join
the
conversation
via
social
media
on
Twitter,
Facebook,
or
Instagram.
###