Jan 26, 2015 3 min read

Deanne Craig’s job had her in tears Monday morning. Tears of joy, gratification, pride and profound surprise.

Beginning her shift at the Bentleyville McDonald’s, Craig approached the counter, quizzically glimpsed the cluster of corporate execs ahead – all in full smile – then spied the outsized ceremonial check. Suddenly, realization hit and she was lovin’ it.

The company was honoring Craig with one of its national Ray Kroc awards, which inspired happy tears in a place known for Happy Meals. She hugged a company official, cried a little more, and hugged another.

“Congratulations for all that you do for McDonald’s,” Jose Graffe, director of operations for the Pittsburgh region, said after Craig regained the composure that has enabled her to manage this restaurant efficiently since 1995.

This honor is no crock. Named for the man who built the McDonald’s empire, the Kroc award is bestowed upon only 1 percent of McDonald’s managers nationwide. Only 142 in the United States are being honored for their service in 2014, and Craig is the only one among them who is managing a Southwestern Pennsylvania restaurant.

Winners also get a ring, a pin and a three-day trip to Chicago in the spring, during which they will attend an awards celebration, tour the city and meet chefs.

Kroc isn’t the only McDonald’s award on Craig’s list. She has twice been named an Outstanding Manager, a designation that goes to the top 10 percent nationally, the most recent being in 2013.

This, she said, was her first Kroc nomination, making the triumph especially satisfying.

“I started with the company when I was 18,” said Craig, who has been on the McDonald’s payroll for 29 ½ years. “It’s the only job I’ve ever had.”

Being a manager, she said, “is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Craig, who has a 13-year-old daughter, certainly goes the distance for her company, commuting from Greensburg. She is a full-fledged Western Pennsylvanian, who graduated from Yough High School and also was a manager at the Pennsylvania Turnpike site near New Stanton and at the Charleroi eatery.

Bentleyville has been her professional home since 1992, when she first started working for Joe Carone, the owner/manager of the Wilson Road site. Carone surely appreciates Craig. He nominated her for the Kroc.

“Dee has been an extraordinary contributor to the McDonald’s community and has been great in the local community,’ said Carone, a Peters Township resident. “Dee has always risen to the occasion and has been an absolutely wonderful employee.

“This is an all-encompassing award, going to the top 1 percent of the managers. This is the culmination of everything they’ve done.”

Managing a business off Interstate 70, Craig appropriately is driven to succeed. But she said her 56 employees, nine of them department managers, serve collectively as her GPS.

“I’m honored to be working with this team,” Craig said. “My team does the best it can every day. If not for them, I wouldn’t have been chosen for this award.”

Although she knew she was nominated, Craig was blindsided by the honor bestowed upon her a few minutes before 10 Tuesday. She said Carone knew two weeks ago that she was among the chosen, but didn’t say anything.

“He was then on vacation until today,” Craig said, laughing. “He didn’t have to make eye contact.”

When Carone did Tuesday, he saw tears. Happy ones.