The 2022 WhataGames and Whataburger Convention, held March 2022 in Houston, Texas, brought together the 14-state Whataburger family for a celebration of the company’s culture and vision.

The highlight of the event? Some (mostly) friendly competition between the top-performing restaurants and maintenance teams to see who could best deliver Whataburger’s brand excellence in the two-day WhataGames competition.

Learn more about our 2022 WhataGames winners – as well as the outstanding Family Members honored as Operating Partners of the Year – in these stories.

Under her leadership, the team shattered sales goals.

Delivering weekly sales records despite limited dining room hours -- and keeping her team motivated and engaged throughout the year -- helped Arredondo become the 2020 Operating Partner of the Year. She was recognized at the Whataburger Corporate and Supplier Awards Dinner in March 2022 – and pocketed $25,000 in prize money for her efforts.

“I’m honored, and this will be an unforgettable day in my life,” Arredondo said. “I feel incredibly happy to take this home to my team. It’s for me and my team.”

Arredondo has been with Whataburger for more than 16 years – 14 as an Operating Partner. Her restaurant – Unit 1085 at 12302 Montana Ave. in El Paso – has the highest sales volume in the region. She has been in this restaurant, her third, for more than six years. And while Arredondo started her Operating Partner career in smaller Whataburger restaurants, she jumped at the chance to open this store as its Operating Partner in 2016.

Now she’s making sure other Whataburger Family Members have the same chance she did.

“The thing I love about my job is giving opportunities like someone gave me,” Arredondo said. “Seeing Team Members go on to be Team Leaders, Team Leaders get Manager positions and some of them becoming Operating Partners … that’s what I really like about my job.”

Arredondo also serves on Whataburger’s Leadership Council, a group of leading Operating Partners that advise the business on strategy and operations improvements. The role allows her to share her expertise and be an advocate for other leaders in the company. “I think success as an OP is about believing in yourself and remembering that somebody else believes in you,” she said.

She channeled that energy in 2020, leading her team during the early days of the pandemic.

“For me, it was maintaining a positive attitude for my team,” Arredondo says. “Seeing them there, working so hard to care for our guests, pushed me to be their standard bearer. I could not let them down because they didn’t let me down.”

“I’m about to move to Phoenix to be an Area Coach,” Sawadogo said. “I have trusted in Whataburger, and they have always taken care of me.”

For his part, Sawadogo has always taken care of his team. It’s a big part of the reason he was recognized as the 2021 Operating Partner of the Year (which comes with a $25,000 prize!) at the Whataburger Corporate & Supplier Awards Dinner in March 2022.

“Tonight, all I can feel is happiness,” he said. “I cannot wait to tell my team and celebrate with them.”

Sawadogo leads Unit 503, which is located next to the NRG Stadium in Houston and often provides meals for professional players as well as children’s sports camps

“Every single day I do my best to make somebody better,” Sawadogo said. “People will do anything for you if you really trust them and empower them. That's what really makes me love this company: People who really impact you and make you a better person.”

Sawadogo immigrated to the United States from Burkina Faso 13 years ago. He joined Whataburger as a Team Member, learned English and — a year and a half later ­­— was promoted to Team Leader. He went to school to earn his associate’s degree, then his bachelor's degree, then his master’s ­-- all while working at Whataburger. When he earned his master’s degree in finance, he talked with a recruiter at Bank of America – and briefly considered a different career path.

But, he says, he knew his future with Whataburger was bright. “I thought, ‘You know what? Whataburger gave me everything. Whataburger believed in me. I’m going to stick with Whataburger.”

He became an Operating Partner in 2019.

“When I started, I didn’t even have the money to ride the bus. I walked to work and school. But Whataburger gave me the opportunity. Somebody believed in me,” he says.

More than 2,000 Family Members attended Sunday night’s Corporate Awards Banquet, as we wrapped up the 2019 Whataburger Family Convention – and came together to recognize the best of the best.

Corporate Awards

• Area Manager of the Year: Jose Rodriguez, Area 5410 (2017); Joel Hernandez, Area 7320 (2018)
• Director of Operations of the Year: George Gonzalez, Zone 8400 (2017); Aaron Valdez, Zone 5400 (2018)
• Harmon and Grace Dobson Award: Marianne Dowdy, Vice President of Human Resources (2017); Mike Sims and Gary Sims, Franchise Support Managers (2018)
• Franchisee of the Year: John Heiman, Whataburger of Mesquite (2017); Chris Johnson, G.V.C.S. (2018)
• Franchise Key Operator of the Year: Chris Deters and Greg Deters, NCG Enterprises LP (2017); Micah Webster, Webster Enterprises (2018)
• High-Volume Unit (2017 & 2018) - Corporate: Unit 178, San Marcos, Texas; GM Greg Goolsby
• High-Volume Unit (2017 & 2018) - Franchise: Unit 1039, Dallas, Texas; Concessions Management Inc., Franchisee Gilbert Aranza

Thomas E. Dobson Awards

There are more than 800 General Managers in the Whataburger system, but only one can win the Thomas E. Dobson GM of the Year award.

It’s an honor bestowed upon a Family Member who delivers an unparalleled level of service to customers, Team Members and the community.

At the Whataburger corporate awards on Sunday, Chairman of the Board Tom Dobson recognized the GMs who earned this recognition for 2017 and 2018: Marsha Saxon and Richard Martinez.

Saxon, from Unit 931 in Pace, Florida, was recognized as the 2017 winner. Martinez, from Unit 790 in San Antonio, Texas, was honored as the 2018 recipient.

Congratulations to our winners! We’re proud of all your hard work and dedication to the brand. See you in 2021!

Texas brought the broom to the 2019 WhataGames in Houston, with three squads from the Lone Star State sweeping the restaurant competition.

Teams from Whataburger stores in Allen, El Paso and Lindale brought home the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, respectively. They also shared in prize money totaling more than $200,000.

At WhataGames, held every other year, 15-member teams from 22 restaurants show their skills in the final round of competition that tests them on everything from customer service to company history.

Separate games challenge maintenance technicians to find and fix restaurant breakdowns on the fl.

Just getting to the final round of WhataGames is an honor, says Paul Craig, General Manager of the gold-winning Whataburger in Allen.

“Bringing home the WhataGames gold and seeing the community excitement makes us all proud,” Craig says. “WhataGames is about getting rewarded for doing our jobs correctly. And we do our jobs well because we love our customers.”

Whataburger’s 2019 WhataGames winners are:

Restaurants

Gold: Unit 984, Allen, Texas; Area Manager Donald Beaton; General Manager Paul Craig

Silver: Unit 412, El Paso, Texas; Area Manager James Martinez; General Manager Christian Noya

Bronze: Unit 1036, Lindale, Texas; Area Manager Helen Liggins; General Manager Nancy McIntyre (DKT Investments Franchise led by Franchisee Doyle Thomas)

MSC (Maintenance Service Company)

Gold: Region 8000 (Rio Grande Valley Markets)

Peter Hernandez, Lead Tech; Joe Benavidez, Oscar Chapa and Robert Garza.

Silver: Region 2000 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana Markets)

Danny Wise, Lead Tech; Bill Castanon, Scott Foster and Mike Bradford.

Bronze: Region 9000 (Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex Markets)

Andy Collier, Lead Tech; Bryan Hicks, Anthony Halter, and Greg Edwards.

Picture the Olympics, only with burgers, fries and a side of motivation.

That’s WhataGames.

The Olympics, in fact, inspired this flagship Whataburger event. In 1996, as people across the world watched the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Whataburger leaders had an epiphany: What if they could harness Olympic-style competitive energy to motivate Whataburger Family Members?

And, just like that, WhataGames was born.

Since then, high-performing teams have gathered every two years to go for the gold.

How it has changed

At the first WhataGames in 1996, Family Members competed as individuals and the top prizes included a television, a trip and a personal computer. In 1998, the top prize was a brand-new pickup truck. The stakes were even higher in 2000, with each of the top five finishers receiving a new car.

Then, in 2002, WhataGames became a team event, and the winners started taking home cold, hard cash.

This year, more than $150,000 in cash prizes is on the line.

The tough but friendly competition is fun, but there’s more to it. The goal is to improve restaurant quality by building camaraderie and a deeper understanding of company procedures and culture. In short, the games grow knowledge – and that knowledge reaps rewards for the business as well as the Family Members.