News & Articles

FiltaCon2022 – Return to Conference after Pandemic Hiatus Was “All Systems Go!”

Filta Franchise Owners attended in full force when FiltaCon2022 kicked off the first weekend of March. Nearly 100 Franchisees attended, arriving from California to Connecticut, Washington to West Virginia, and anywhere in between. Everyone was eager to get together for the first time since the pandemic and all systems were a go for a productive time developing new skills, refining business practices, and learning tips and techniques to improve Filta’s operations coast to coast.

FiltaCon2022 Awards

Additionally, there was a fair bit of good old fun, networking, and learning (we will cover this in our next blog post, so stay tuned), as well as awards to outstanding owners, techs, and support personnel. In total, more than 75 awards recognized excellence and hard work throughout the many facets of the Filta system. Standouts included: 

• Filta Flagship Award – Jon Michals (NJ)
• Market Penetration Leader 2021 – Terry Walkerly (OH)
• Highest Sales 2021 – Ken Melick (OH)
• Highest Average Sales Per Customer 2021 – Craig Palmer (FL)
• Most Customers Invoiced 2021 – Terry Walkerly (OH)
• Hot Start Award 2021 – Keri Gardner (NY), Scott Clark (GA), Hugh Roberts (CO), Ademola Owolabi (PA)
• Tech of the Year – Ron Niksa from Terry Walkerly’s location in OH
• Ops Manager of the Year – Jen Bonawitz from Jon Michals’ location in NJ, who, incidentally, is the first female to ever win ops manager of the year!
• Filta Support Staff of the Year – Troy Edwards and Angel Mendez

We congratulate all these folks, as well as the others on the long list of outstanding entrepreneurs, and we anticipate some vigorous rivalry in the coming months as Franchisees compete for possession of some of these prized titles at the 2023 conference.

“Your Hometown” Silent Auction in Support of Burn Survivors

Along with motivational presentations, legal tips to avoid workplace violations, how to position your business for resale, and hands-on tech equipment training, Filta was proud to offer a significant opportunity to support a nonprofit organization. Since safety and preventing burns from hot oil in kitchens across the country is a key component of our business model, we brought back the Children’s Burn Foundation of Florida for a brief presentation – they were the recipient of our silent auction proceeds. From Chicago Cubs tickets to a Dallas Cowboys handbag, multiple bourbon packages, and a #13 Barzal jersey, to the top prizes of a getaway to Florida’s Wakulla Springs (which went for $520) and a package at California’s Western Desert Willow Villas (which fetched the highest bid of $1,500), our generous Franchise Owners brought and donated items that represented their home states that were then auctioned off on Saturday during FiltaCon2022.

We raised an extremely generous total of more than $10,000 for the CBFF to help allow burn survivors ages 6-17 to attend summer camp in Camp TeQuesta, FL. The director of the foundation, Carrol Ann Stankovitz, said it is a humbling gift to witness the transformation of burn survivors that attend camp and, without generosity like Filta’s, much of their work would not be possible.

“The fact that you more than doubled your donation to over $10,000 is astonishing,” Ms. Stankovitz said. “I was speechless, and I am forever grateful for your unselfishness.”

This remarkable donation is tangible evidence of the quality of the people in Filta’s network. Our kind, authentic owners are filled with integrity and we’re grateful to be in association with them, individually and as a group. 

The next blog post about FiltaCon 2022 will cover some of the “extracurricular” fun enjoyed by the folks in this wonderful network as well as a few more details of the nuts and bolts learning sessions experienced at All Systems Go!