To April Young, one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of her job is watching lawmakers pass legislation without understanding the potential impact on their constituents.
“A lot of times it’s just about going with the party line, not about the facts,” says Young, the government affairs manager for Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, the Carrollton, Texas-based parent of the T.G.I. Friday’s and Pick Up Stix brands.
Still, Young doesn’t feel it’s her role to lobby those in the halls of power. Instead, she works to “empower” operators and franchisees within Carlson’s more than 700 corporate-owned and franchised restaurants across the United States so they can make their own appeals to lawmakers.
“They’re the best voices to speak out,” she says, sipping an iced tea in a Friday’s unit near her home in Southern California. Because Young works out of her home—although she’s also often on the road—it’s not unusual for her to host a meeting at one of the company’s restaurants, with her trusty cell phone and laptop at her side. But she acknowledges that she can’t be everywhere.
“Sometimes,” she says. “I’m a black box in a meeting room somewhere.”
The day before, however, she was in Sacramento, Calif., at a powwow with representatives of the California Restaurant Association. On the table: the battle of the health care bills. While some sort of statewide employer mandate for health care seems likely, too many details remain unanswered about the proposed bills for her to comment on which plan might be the most palatable, she says.
The previous week she was in Las Vegas at a Carlson leadership council meeting. There, she worked the government affairs kiosk, meeting with operators from around the country about the issues that affect their lives and businesses.
“I heard a lot of concern about wage issues, health care, immigration,” she says. “My job is about building relationships at both ends.”
The lone government affairs representative for the company’s restaurant group, Young is responsible for keeping up with issues at the local, state and federal levels that might impact operators of the 582-unit casual-dining Friday’s brand and the 125-unit fast-casual Pick Up Stix chain.
She is one of only a handful of government affairs specialists working for companies in the full-service segment. The larger full-service chains such as Brinker International, Darden Restaurants Inc. and Applebee’s International have government affairs representatives, and often Young works closely with those peers to coordinate efforts on issues that might impact casual dining as a whole.
In Texas, for example, Young has been working with operators who are pushing for legislation that would make it easier for residents to hold elections in “dry” territories, where restaurants must operate as private clubs in order to serve alcohol. In many of those areas, residents are calling for local-option elections seeking to overturn such alcohol restrictions—an issue that uniquely impacts full-service restaurants.
Young, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University, also is in charge of Carlson’s political action committee, which means she is always keeping in mind where the next contribution might go.
APRIL YOUNG AGE: 33EMPLOYER: Carlson Restaurants WorldwideTITLE: government affairs managerLENGTH OF TENURE: 10 yearsCAREER MILESTONES: achieving nonprofit status for Carlson’s Have A Heart employee assistance program; nominated for this year’s Order of the Golden Rose Award for employee achievementASPIRATIONS: to continue to grow in government affairs and to grow Carlson’s employee-assistance fundHOMETOWN: Mesa, Ariz.PERSONAL: an avid world traveler who has visited nearly 50 countriesFAVORITE PASTIMES: skydiving and planning the next trip
Government affairs, which fall under Carlson’s legal department, are a high priority for the company, she says. In fact, Richard Snead, the company’s president and chief executive, is transitioning from his role as chairman of the National Restaurant Association’s Save America’s Free Enterprise, or SAFE, committee to head the association’s government affairs committee.
Increasingly, legislative battles have moved from Washington, D.C., to the nation’s statehouses, which makes following the issues that much more challenging for companies like Carlson, with units spread across the map.
Still, Young contends that helping operators become advocates on more local issues can be that much more rewarding.
“You feel like you’re really making a difference,” she says.
On this day, however, Young spent the morning at home in Orange County making a difference through another aspect of her job.
In addition to government affairs, Young leads an employee assistance fund called Have A Heart, a nonprofit foundation funded in part by “team member” contributions that offers financial support to those in need within the restaurant group.
If an employee has a car accident and doesn’t have insurance, or learns that his or her child has cancer, the Have A Heart fund can help.
“Carlson was one of the first companies to offer something like this,” says Young, who joined the company 10 years ago, not long after the fund was started. “It used to be, when something happened, you’d pass the hat around.”
Last year, however, the Have A Heart fund raised more than $500,000. More than half of Carlson’s 28,124 corporate employees contribute part of their paycheck toward the fund, which also is fattened by fund-raising events, such as vendor golf tournaments—which Young also plans.
After Hurricane Katrina wiped out much of New Orleans, the Have A Heart fund was able to give out checks totaling more than $100,000 to about 60 team members in need there, Young says.
Applications seeking help from the fund arrive almost daily. Young submits the requests to her 13-member board, which then votes on each request. Typically, help is on the way within a few days.
“This is what makes my job,” she says. “My heart is in helping others.”
Young’s work with the fund, however, means her schedule is somewhat unpredictable.
When it comes to government affairs, the busy times are when various governing bodies are in session. Her work with the Have A Heart fund, however, can increase considerably whenever there’s a tornado, flood or other tragedy anywhere in the country.
Young is not one to sit still at work or play. Because of Carlson’s generous vacation benefits, she has been able to pursue her passion for world travel. On her last trip she visited Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Next up is Egypt and Turkey. Her goal is to visit 100 countries before she reaches age 50—and she only has 52 to go.
“I just love it. It’s the people you meet and the history,” says Young, a self-described thrill seeker, who loves adventure sports such as hang gliding and skydiving.
When asked where she hopes to go from here, Young responds with a bring-it-on attitude.
“I want to keep growing in government affairs, but also to keep growing the Have A Heart fund,” she says. “I really aspire to build something.”
