If you ask Kenny Lawson, he’d say (in his Southern drawl), he’s been standing on solid ground for about five years. That’s precisely when he found MRCO and Taco Bell, and his life started to turn around for the better.
And this guy’s been steadily climbing our career ladder ever since! Kenny was most recently promoted to Restaurant General Manager (RGM) at our location in Franklin, TN.
Where you start is not where you’ll end at MRCO!
Kenny’s story doesn’t follow the typical team member career start. It’s an inspiring journey, a reminder that everyone deserves a second chance. Five years ago is not only when he joined MRCO, it also marks Kenny’s release from a state correctional facility where he was serving time.
“[I] got my life together out there,” he says of being behind bars. “It was a blessing, you know, because I was headed down the wrong road.”
“When you’re locked in that cell, you ain’t got much to think about other than changing, you know, or stay there,” he explains, adding that his time in prison was mid-COVID so he was stuck in the cell sometimes 23 hours a day. “You got to want to change.”
Kenny’s life was heading down the wrong path … and then he found MRCO.
Change is what turned this story around! “The good Lord above, He’ll meet you in your mess,” he says of his transformation. Kenny had tired of his self-proclaimed “no good” lifestyle.
The day Kenny got out of the corrections facility was the happiest day of his life he says. He hopped on a Greyhound bus to Nashville and never looked back! Some parts of his story are the stuff country music hits are made of.
A Happy Ending
Kenny says he found Taco Bell about two months after his release. Why did he choose us?
“Well, nobody would really give me a chance because of my record.” he shares.
But in MRCO, Kenny found a new path forward and so much more: a great team that operates like family, an Area Coach he strives to emulate and a future filled with possibility. And in the midst of all of this, he proposed to his girlfriend of 29 years! Angela happens to also be a cashier at his location.
“I’m just happy here. Happy with what I do, dealing with people.” – Kenny Lawson, RGM
“I’m hoping eventually I can move up to Area Coach,” he says. “I just want to keep climbing, see where it takes me.”
Kenny’s journey hasn’t been an easy one, but he’s learned a lot along the way. And now he’s in a position to share that wisdom and motivation with others. So what does he say about overcoming challenges and going after what you want?
“It takes a lot of patience,” he says. “It’s a lot of hard work and dedication [that] goes into it. And you’ve got to want to do this job to be successful in it.”
Kenny’s ultimate secret is taking it one day at a time. And at MRCO, that approach is working out just fine.
Here’s to finding happiness and a future in our restaurants! See where we’re hiring right now.