Month: July 2014

Not that bad, right? 3 weeks? My wife and kids recently flew to Kalispell, Montana to visit my wife’s parents… and I was left to somehow figure out how to live on my own again. As hard as I try, I cannot forget that first day they were gone.

I sat on the empty couch in the empty living room.

I rode around the block on my bike.

I again sat on the empty couch in the empty living room.

I rode another lap around the block.

I ate cereal and watched Inside Edition.

I was hopeless and helpless.

I am not a loner. I am the guy that drives to Wal-Mart just to walk around and be with people.

So I dove into work. And by diving in… I jumped off the high-dive. That first week consisted of shift work, new hire orientation, paperwork, etc. Just a nugget shy of 70 hours. If you had googled “Where does Kent live?”, Chick-fil-A would have popped up.

Second week was busy as well. Not as many hours, but throw in Grand Opening preparation… paperwork, packing, etc. It was my first “real” Grand Opening, and I was excited and a wee bit nervous having never served outside of my home store.

Third week was Grand Opening week. I attended my church Sunday morning, June 22nd, with fellow CFA team members, grabbed lunch at a Greek place, then hit 74 East to Fayetteville, NC.

I had attended Certified Trainer class back in the spring at the CFA headquarters in Atlanta, and part of becoming certified was to actually take part in Grand Openings. So in planning for my first, I wanted to time it to where my family was away… as we have no family in Charlotte to help with the kids while I am on the road.

I will not go into the details of the Grand Opening, as many of you would not be able to relate on an operational level, but I will say that God gave us an incredible week as a team. Only person I knew going in was a girl that had been in class with me in Atlanta. That’s it. But that is what makes it so cool! Fellow CFA’ers from all over come to serve together… to lead… to train… to love. So amazing! Jeremy Stouder was our Grand Opening supervisor and though I had never served under anyone else… I felt he was top-notch! He never micro-managed… only empowered.

I trust that God used me in some small way to impact that community in the few short days I was there. I know that my life was impacted by my fellow teammates, the incredible staff at the Chick-fil-A of Raeford Rd, and by the wonderful guests I had the pleasure of meeting.

If you are ever in the Fayetteville area, please stop in and show your support! It’s a military town with a lot of history. I tried to thank as many veterans as I could while there. Because of them, I am free to pursue the journey of operating my own Chick-fil-A one day… God willing. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!