On the August 4th edition of PlayMakers Talk Show, our guests were:
Stan Richards – Principal & Creative Director, The Richards Group and Jay Cockerell & Ward Olgreen – JC’s Burger House
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Stan Richards, Principal & Creative Director, The Richards Group
Stan Richards founded The Richards Group as a freelance practice after graduating from Pratt Institute in New York. Over the next 20 years, it became one of the nation’s premier creative resources. In 1976, it became a full-service advertising agency.
Stan’s work has received awards in virtually every major competition in the world. In 1976, Stan was chosen by the Dallas Society of Visual Communications as “the single individual who, over his career, has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of creative standards in the Southwestern United States.”
In 1981, 1983, and 1984, Stan was named by Adweek to the Southwest Creative All-Stars Hall of Fame. In 1986, Adweek named him Executive of the Year, and he was included in The Wall Street Journal’s “Giants of Our Time.” Adweek named the firm Agency of the Year in 1988, 1990, 1994 and 2002. In 1995, Stan was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine.
In 1997, Graphis magazine named The Richards Group one of the 10 best agencies in the world, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies honored the firm with its A+ Award, given annually to America’s best agency. In 2007, Graphic Design USA named the firm one of America’s six most influential agencies.
Jay Cockerell & Ward Olgreen, JC’s Burger House
In 1999, Sondra and Jay Cockerell founded JC’s Burger House, Inc. By making the burger the “star”, they turned a 1400 square foot, “hole-in-the-wall” destination restaurant a standing room only establishment within 3 months. And they’ve been voted Best Tasting Burger in Plano 8 years in a row.
By 2003, standing-room-only crowds demanded the opening of an Allen location of JC’s. A third followed soon after, when a regular customer and friend asked to franchise a JC’s in McKinney. Locations in Frisco, Addison and, most recently, Richardson bring the total the number of JC’s franchises to six in the Dallas area.
Ward Olgreen currently holds the position of Brand Evangelist and Chief Bottle Washer at JC’s Burger House. Like many in the restaurant industry, Ward began his career with McDonald’s and never looked back. Now a 35+ year veteran of the Restaurant Industry, his background includes lengthy stints with 4 iconic Texas brands (Whataburger, Pizza Inn, Grandy’s and Souper Salad). Ward’s background includes Concept Development, Menu Creation, Brand Renovation, Marketing, Franchising, Supply Chain Management and International Operations.
He recently completed his commitment as President & CEO of Souper Salad and Grandy’s restaurant chains. After achieving the success reorganization and sale of both brand’s, Ward took time to identify his next opportunity. After meeting Jay and Sondra through a mutual friend they quickly saw how they could partner together to help each other take JC’s to the next level.
Their goal is to double to 16 restaurants in the next two years. Three to four years from now, they expect to be adding four to 12 locations annually.
Ward Olgreen, Jay Cockerell, Stan Richards and Host Steve A Klein
