The National Restaurant Association has honored Michael Whalen, president and chief executive of Heart of America Restaurants Inc., headquartered in Moline, Iowa, with its 2011 Restaurant Neighbor Award. The award celebrates outstanding community service efforts that restaurateurs perform in their respective communities.
Whalen was recognized as this year’s Cornerstone Humanitarian for helping at-risk and disadvantaged youth change the trajectory of their lives through his Wildwood Hills Ranch year-long retreat program in St. Charles, Iowa.
“The restaurant industry first and foremost is about hospitality and serving people, and community service is a natural extension of that,” said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO. “We are pleased to present the Restaurant Neighbor Award to some of the most inspiring examples of philanthropy in our industry. Michael Whalen’s dedication to his community is a true inspiration, and his efforts have changed the lives of thousands of children for the better.”
Whalen founded the Wildwood Hills Ranch after taking a tour of another ranch for at-risk youth in 1999. As a boy growing up in Moline, Iowa, he never considered that other children led less fortunate lives than his own. It was only after visiting the Rawhide Boys Ranch in New London, Wis., and meeting its founder, John Gillespie, that he knew he would start his own facility to help kids in need. Wildwood opened its doors in 2001 and has since impacted the lives of some 8,000 children. Now Whalen is planning to open a year-round facility within the next couple of years.
The National Restaurant Association presented Whalen his award along with a $5,000 charitable contribution during its 2011 Public Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. American Express is the founding partner of the Restaurant Neighbor award program. It was developed in 1999 in an effort to raise awareness of the industry’s contributions to local communities throughout the country, and to inspire more owners and operators to get involved and contribute to their respective communities.
“American Express is proud to partner with the National Restaurant Association to honor the contributions restaurateurs across the country make to their communities,” said Curtis L. Wilson, Vice President and General Manager, Restaurant and Lodging Industries, American Express. “Through charitable gifts of food, time, and resources, restaurants have a tangible and lasting impact on their communities; we hope these actions inspire others to do the same.”
In addition to Whalen, the National Restaurant Association recognized three others with the 2011 Restaurant Neighbor Award. They are: Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, the Pittsburgh-based parent of the national Eat’n Park restaurant chain, in the large business category; Charleston Chefs Feed The Need, a consortium composed of 52 Charleston, S.C.-based restaurants, in the mid-size business category; and Kona Kai Coffee Company, a gourmet coffee shop in Kent, Wash., in the small business category.
For more information on the Restaurant Neighbor Award program, as well as the national winners and state finalists, visit the Association’s website, www.restaurant.org/rna.