Fredericksburg Olive Garden General Manager Honored

Mike Ricks, general manager of Olive Garden in Fredericksburg, has been presented with Darden Restaurants’ top honor – the Joe R. Lee Diamond Club Award, named after the company’s first chairman and CEO.


Now in its 16th year, the award is presented annually by Darden Restaurants to the top performing general managers and managing partners across the company's restaurant brands. The award is named in honor of Joe Lee, who opened the first Red Lobster in 1968 with company founder Bill Darden, and who later became Darden's first Chairman & CEO.

The award recognizes outstanding customer service and top financial performance in the company’s previous fiscal year.

Ricks joins an elite group of 39 general managers selected from the more than 800 in North America.

In 2013, Darden was named to Fortune Magazine's “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the third year in a row, and is the only full-service restaurant company ever to appear on the list. The company's restaurant brands include  Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House.

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