McDonald's® Names Olympic-Bound Crew From Worldwide Restaurant Staff
'Best of Our Best' From Around the World to Convene in Salt Lake City
PRNewswire
OAK BROOK, Ill.
Oct 29, 2001
It's 100 days and counting until the Opening Ceremony in Salt Lake City, and McDonald's Crew from around the world are preparing for their moment in Olympic history. These 400 gold medal winners from five continents will represent their countries at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, February 8 - 24 in Salt Lake City. They were chosen as part of worldwide competitions held this past year among McDonald's 1.3 million Crew in its 29,000 restaurants in 121 countries. The World Champion Crew will serve the athletes, coaches, officials and media at McDonald's food service sites in the Olympic Village and Main Media Center.
"Our crew is the heart and soul of who we are, so it's fitting that the world's best athletes will be served their favorite McDonald's food by the world's best crew," said Jack Greenberg, president and CEO of McDonald's. "These outstanding young people embody the Olympic ideals shared by McDonald's of excellence, determination, commitment and hard work."
Criteria for selection to McDonald's Champion Crew Team included service, speed, accuracy, personality and teamwork, reflecting the operational requirements at all McDonald's restaurants. McDonald's plans to showcase this elite team in an advertising campaign surrounding the Olympic Games. A list of the crew award winners can be found on the McDonald's media web site at http://www.media.mcdonalds.com/ beginning November 1.
"Being selected as a member of the Crew that will serve the best athletes in the world is a real honor," said Lad Hudac of Springfield, Ohio. "When I started at McDonald's, I never dreamed I'd be chosen as one of the world's best crew. I look forward to making my country proud at the Olympic Winter Games."
McDonald's will have full-service restaurants in both the Olympic Village and the Main Media Center, where guests will experience a "familiar taste of home" by choosing from such worldwide favorites as McDonald's Big Mac™ sandwich and World Famous Fries™. In addition, more than 100 McDonald's restaurants in the Salt Lake City area are preparing to welcome millions of guests to the Games with special activities and menu offerings.
As the official restaurant of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, McDonald's expects to:
- Serve over one million sandwiches to athletes, coaches, officials,
media and spectators
- Serve an average of 5,000 hamburgers each day to athletes, coaches and
officials in the Olympic Village
- Use more than 1.8 million meat patties, 60 tons of potatoes and 10,000
kilos of lettuce to feed spectators of the Games.
"Athletes from around the world love to see those familiar Golden Arches at the Games," said Mike Roberts, president, McDonald's U.S.A. "We've become a proud Olympic Games tradition and look forward to welcoming the world to these U.S. Games."
McDonald's will bring the fun and excitement of the Olympic Winter Games to its customers around the world through a combination of restaurant promotions, themed packaging and advertising. In the U.S., McDonald's is planning several New Tastes Menu™ selections with an international flair and special television creative.
McDonald's became an official Olympic sponsor in 1976 and has a longstanding commitment to the Olympic Movement. At the 1968 Olympic Winter Games, McDonald's airlifted hamburgers to the U.S. athletes competing in Grenoble, France, who reported they were homesick for McDonald's.
The Salt Lake Games mark McDonald's third Olympic Games as a TOP Global Sponsor and the fourth as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games. McDonald's is the world's leading foodservice retailer with more than 29,000 restaurants, serving nearly 45 million people each day in 121 countries. More than 80 percent of McDonald's restaurants around the world are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.
Media: Visit http://www.media.mcdonalds.com/
For more information, contact: Julie Monzo of McDonald's, +1-630-623-6049; or Kate Sansone of Burson-Marsteller, +1-312-596-3507.
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990916/MCDLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840
SOURCE: McDonald's Corporation
Contact: Julie Monzo of McDonald's, +1-630-623-6049; or Kate Sansone of
Burson-Marsteller, +1-312-596-3507
Website: http://www.mcdonalds.com/
Website: http://www.media.mcdonalds.com/