Graduates of Church's Chicken's Stride for Success Program Reaching New Heights

    ATLANTA, GA, November 19, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Created as a way to help its employees advance within the company, Church's Chicken's Stride for Success Program is seeing tremendous results. Stride for Success allows Church's employees the opportunity to earn their high school diplomas through an online instruction platform offered in collaboration with Penn Foster. In Louisiana and Mississippi, Diane Liddell, the Market Leader for Church's in those two areas, has been a diligent advocate of the program - and is about to welcome Stride for Success' fifth graduate.

"As a Market Leader, I encouraged these employees to enroll in the Stride for Success program," says Liddell. "Then I made myself available every step of the way. From giving advice on their application exams to providing the necessary days off when it was required, I invested in removing obstacles that would normally get in the way of reaching the important achievement a high school diploma represents."

The first graduate of the program was Monica Wilhite, who earned her diploma in September of 2016, and has since been promoted to Restaurant Manager. This year, LaTonya Reynolds completed the program in February, which allowed her to advance to the level of Assistant Manager, a position which requires a high school diploma. Swanza McGee is also expected to graduate by the end of 2017. Other recent graduates - Tametria Thomas and Jasmine Grayer were promoted to the level of Restaurant Manager in their respective restaurants since completing the program.

"At Church's Chicken, you really can be anything you want to be," said Grayer. "My coworkers and I have been given the chance to create meaningful careers ourselves, working our way from shift leader to Assistant Manager to Manager. I believe we're all very proud of what we've been able to accomplish."

Liddell's support for Stride for Success is inspired by her belief in various Church's core values such as Doing the Right Thing, Stepping Up, and Showing You Care... but is also motivated by her talent for Building Winning Teams, another tenet of Church's business philosophy. "I can relate with these graduates and I see a bit of myself in each of them," Liddell explained. "They're single mothers, trying to provide for their families, and at Church's we're giving people the opportunity to become someone they may have thought they never could be."

Ed Brett, Church's Chief Human Resource Officer and founding sponsor for Stride for Success, agreed with Liddell's assessment of why the program is so important, and what it means for someone like Liddell to take such a dedicated role in bringing it to those who need it. "Since our first class of graduates in early 2016, this program has continued to grow and change lives for our employees in all parts of the country, each with their own unique story, equally hungry for an opportunity we're proud Church's is able to provide," said Brett. "We applaud Diane Liddell for the significant impact she is having on her employees, their families, and the communities they serve."

About Church's Chicken
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952 by George W. Church, Church's Chicken is one of the largest quick service restaurant chicken chains in the world. Church's specializes in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips , sandwiches, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church's (along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside the Americas) has more than 1,650 locations in 27 countries and international territories and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information, visit http://www.churchs.com. Follow Church's on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/churchschicken and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/churchschicken.

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