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Womans First Job Was to Scrub Toilets at McDonalds - Now, She Owns 12 Restaurants
Entrepreneurs

Womans First Job Was to Scrub Toilets at McDonalds - Now, She Owns 12 Restaurants

Tanya Hill-Holliday is a familiar name in the McDonald's franchise. But she wasn't always. "I was told I wasn't supposed to be here, I was called every name BUT my name," she told CBS News.Luckily, she didn't listen. Now, she's the proud owner of a dozen McDonald's restaurants in Pennsylvania and her story of perseverance is inspiring others to dream big. From Scrubbing Toilets to Making History as Philly’s First Black Woman to Own a McDonald’sTanya Hill-Holliday landed her first job working as a part-time crew member at McDonald's while attending Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She was cleaning toilets, scrubbing baseboards, and wiping tables. It was far from glamorous. But that didn't matter, she enjoyed it anyway. "I always enjoyed what I was doing, as difficult as it was to be told, 'You got to clean a table, you got to clean the toilets, you got to scrub the baseboards." "'You got to do...' I did it."Tanya Hill-Holliday via CBS PhiladelphiaUpon graduating from university with a degree in management, she immediately jumped into the McDonald's management trainee program. She's never looked back. From there, she crawled her way up the corporate ladder, from crew member to supervisor to assistant manager to vice president. Despite being constantly told she didn't belong, she ignored the haters, put her head down, and just kept on working. It paid off.She's Lovin' It!Forty-four years and 13 positions later, Holliday is now the proud owner of a dozen restaurants. Using her stock options, she bought her very first franchise in 2005. Today, it's worth over $1.5 million. Not only was it her first restaurant, it was a first in the Philly history books. She is recognized as the very first African American woman to own and operate a McDonald’s in the “City of Brotherly Love.” Since then, she's purchased 11 more restaurants. Currently, she has more than 600 employees, some of whom have been with her from day one. She considers them all family.And now, she's giving back. She serves as the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association Chair and CEO of 168 entities across the U.S. According to its website, the NBMOA is "the largest organization of established African American entrepreneurs in the world."As the Chair and CEO, Holliday is committed to ensuring that "McDonald’s fully engages the African American community in an authentic, respectful, and positive manner." She plans to implement new and innovative programming to enrich the members and benefit the communities they serve. Never Give up on Your DreamsHolliday hopes her journey will inspire young people just starting out on theirs. "When you think you've hit a brick wall, go over the wall, go around the wall — if you gotta go under the wall — do what you have to do but just don't let roadblocks stop you. Keep persistent. Be strong."Tanya Hill-HollidayA little praying doesn't hurt either."Stay motivated, stay encouraged, stay prayed up. I stay prayed up all the time," Holliday added.With sheer perseverance and tenacity, Holliday proved her critics wrong. Not only that, but she went all the way, rising to the top AND making history. Not bad for a woman who started by scrubbing toilets.Her story is an inspiration to all of us. A trailblazer and a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, she proves that determination, resilience, and the refusal to give up can lead to achieving even our wildest dreams. More from Goalcast:Freezing Homeless Man Goes to a Closed McDonald’s – Manager Defies All Rules and Does ThisLittle Girl Starts Screaming at McDonald’s – Mom Burst into Tears After Seeing One Employee’s ActionsWoman Takes Brother With Autism to McDonald’s – One Employee’s Behavior Towards Him Goes Viral

85-Year-Old McDonald’s Employee Responsible for His Adult Grandkids Can’t Retire - But One Customer Changes Everything
Uplifting News

85-Year-Old McDonald’s Employee Responsible for His Adult Grandkids Can’t Retire - But One Customer Changes Everything

Wendall Gill had been wiping tables, stocking supplies and cleaning the bathrooms at the same Lexington, Kentucky, McDonald’s for 43 years. One August day, his life changed when his wife, Della, of 68 years stopped by the restaurant for a meal and died in the bathroom due to an aneurysm. Instead of taking time off work to grieve, Gill continued showing up to work every day. He had two special people to take care of: the special needs grandkids he and Della adopted as babies when their own parents couldn’t care for them.How a Community Stepped Up to Help a Grieving SeniorWendall Gill and Todd Oldfield // Photo by Frank GoadCustomers heard about his hardship after a friend and former co-worker, Todd Oldfield, came in for breakfast and asked Gill how he was doing.“He began telling me this story and he couldn’t go 30 seconds without his eyes welling up,” Oldfield told the Washington Post.RELATED: Man Finds 82-Year-Old Walmart Employee Still Working Long Shifts – Raises $140,000 So He Can Finally RetireOldfield decided he needed to do something to help his old friend. He set up a GoFundMe with the headline “Wendall Needs Us To Serve Him Now!” hoping to raise enough money so Gill could spend more time with his grandsons. The older one, John Columbia, 33, has autism, and the younger one, Justin Gill, 20, has physical and mental effects from fetal alcohol syndrome.Gill was grateful for the help, saying that he missed his wife and it was difficult to show up to work and take care of the boys while grieving. “They say you get over things, but when I think of her, I start crying," Gill said. "I don’t think I’ll ever get over that.”On the GoFundMe page, Oldfield wrote: “He is 85. He really needs to retire. Tomorrow is promised for none of us. He really needs to spend time with his boys and just heal . . . and not worry about where they will get their next meal from.”How a Community Restored Faith in HumanityHundreds of customers and community members donated. On the GoFundMe page, Oldfield wrote that Gill is in debt. Gill and his wife had bought a new Jeep Cherokee for her to take their grandchildren to doctor’s appointments and other activities. They also owed money on a Chrysler van. The payments on the Jeep and van were $1,200 a month, more than double Wendall Gill’s salary. He supplemented his income with social security and disability payments for the boys, but he struggled without his wife’s social security check.RELATED: Exhausted 82-Year-Old Continues to Work as She Has Only $50 – So a Customer Raises $130,000 to Help Her RetireSome of Gill’s children paid for their mother’s casket and funeral.Someone, touched by Gill’s story, offered to buy a headstone for Della Gill. And another family offered to sponsor Christmas for Gill and his boys.The GoFundMe raised $115,520 and Gill was able to pay off the Jeep, the van and his house.He retired and was able to spend time with his boys, sharing many meals with them at McDonald's.Oldfield said it's heartwarming how generous people have been.“As we get older, the world taints us a bit. I’d lost a little faith in humanity until this came along,” he said. “I can’t believe the good nature of people. It’s been kind of amazing.”