Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013

2013 MVP By Debbie Selinsky Division of Duties W Retired veteran couple turn their training to franchising hen Kevin and Laurel Wilkerson, winners of MultiUnit Franchisee magazine’s 2013 MVP Veteran Entrepreneurship Award, came to Marco’s Pizza from the military using the IFA’s VetFran program, they were pretty sure their total of 44 combined years in the U.S. Army stood them in good stead. “What I enjoyed most about the Army was the variety of things I did every day: decision-making, analysis, operations, logistics, training,” says Kevin Wilkerson, who retired in 2005 after 24 years as an Infantry Officer. 46 Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue III, 2013 Name: Kevin and Laurel Wilkerson Title: Owners Company: Boomer Pizza, LLC No of units: 7 Marco’s Pizza Age: Kevin, 54; Laurel, 49 Family: Daughter Amber and son Gary Years in franchising: 3½ Years in current position: 3½ “Franchising, especially multi-unit franchising, tends to be similar to that. When you look at what a multi-unit franchisee does in a typical day, you’re talking about the fact that we can apply ourselves to lease negotiations, site selections, hard and soft science, construction, sequencing, marketing, operations, business analysis, personnel, training. That’s the fun part to me, and it’s hard to replicate just anywhere outside the Army.” Kevin, who also has an MA from Harvard University, and his wife Laurel, an attorney who served 20 years

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