A manager at a McDonald’s in Normal was recognized by the company as being in the top 1% of all its restaurant managers worldwide.
Tynessia Edmonds was one of 397 managers to receive the Ray Kroc Award, named for the businessman responsible for turning McDonald’s into the global fast-food chain it is today.
The McDonald’s at 1535 E. College Ave. in Normal held a surprise celebration to honor Edmonds on Tuesday. She also received a letterman jacket known as a "1 in 8 Alumni Varsity Jacket" to honor current and former employees.
Ray Kroc Award winners, including Edmonds, also receive a trophy, cash prize and an invitation to attend the McDonald's Worldwide Convention in 2026.
“First and foremost, I struggled during that time. I could not have done it without my amazing assistant, who is now a general manager of College Avenue,” she said upon receiving the award. “This was like the toughest time of my life, and I’m just honored to be here. I’m excited. I thank y’all.”
The Ray Kroc Award is the highest award a general manager can receive from McDonald’s.
“It feels amazing. I feel like everything that I worked hard towards paid off, I don’t feel like anything was for granted. I feel like everything was worth it,” she said.
Edmonds has worked for the restaurant for 18 years, nine of which have been spent as the manager at the College Avenue location. Edmonds said the greatest skill it takes to be a manager is having people skills.
A capable and committed staff is also an important factor.
“Each and every manager I had, I spent side-by-side time with them, maybe about three months,” said Edmonds. “I altered my schedule so that I could be there when the ones that were struggling was available. If it was a night shift, I altered my schedule for that. I coached, I talked. I never stopped talking, I never got tired.”
Edmonds said she was grateful and ecstatic to receive the award, but she did not do the work to receive the award. She did the work because she wanted the improvement.
“I was here. I made it a priority to make this a priority, so I wanted it,” she said. “I wanted to do this, I wanted to be here, I wanted to bring more customers in, I wanted to drive the sales. All of those things I wanted to do.”
Mikel Petro is the owner of the franchise location. Petro said he identified Edmonds as a manager who could make improvements to the restaurant from staff culture to sales growth.
“[In] 2024, Tynessia and her team were able to get a 13% lift in sales and 11% lift in guest counts for the calendar year … she did that through focusing on people development, training and really driving home investment in your people,” he said.
Petro said Edmonds is deserving of the awards and recognition from McDonald’s.
“For her hard work to be recognized and celebrated, from not just this organization but from McDonald’s corporation, it means a lot to me personally, to the organization and it really shows that the rest of the team can get, really, the accolades and the results and celebration when they work hard,” Petro said.
“It’s just been a pleasure to work with her because the results that she earned and what I saw in her. She’s worked her way into mid-management and is a key part of my team now.”
