This past November Jeff Kloepfer swung into action as the man responsible for the operations of the Findlay, Oregon, Maumee, Franklin Park, and Perrysburg Ralphie's and what a job he as done. Jeff joined Bennett Enterprises in the vintage year of 1983, a year which also gave us Kathy Milligan, Ron Witt, Willie Ward, and Chuck Klaiber.

Most recently he was the General Manager of the Ralphie's Findlay and prior to that he was the Executive Manager of the Big Boy in the very same building until it reopened as a Ralphie's in April, 1998.  Jeff also served as a Big Boy Manager in Marion and Lima.  (Most of you probably did not know about Marion and Lima….)

A determined leader who deals with all in a forthright manner and demonstrates a work ethic that is every bit as good as what he expects from his team, Jeff has pulled together his store

managers and they are marching in the same direction.  He can be found in his stores any hour of the day, any day of the week.  Tyson Moore, one of our managers at our very successful Franklin Park Ralphie's mentioned that Jeff's follow up is outstanding.  He gave an example of asking for a table for the break room and Jeff had one there within two days.  Tyson mentioned that Jeff is extremely prompt in other matters such as handling customer complaints also.

Jeff's hobbies include being a good father to his 7^th-grade daughter Chelsie as well as serving as Assistant Coach to the highly ranked Liberty Benton High girls varsity basketball team.  Mark Wuertz, Susan Baer, and Rob Armstrong wanted to see Jeff in action and watched Jeff's team beat the Lakota girls team one January evening.  They were very impressed by Jeff's presence on the floor and

the respect that his team had for him.

Jeff also enjoys watching the Cleveland Indians winning and watching the Cleveland Browns playing.  What Jeff misses most about running a Big Boy is working with Etta to put the fine foods out for both the Breakfast Buffet and the Salad Bar.  His favorite Ralphie's menu item is the Barbecue Chicken Salad.  He would not tell us which of his stores made the best salad as he enjoys them all.

Jeff mentioned his biggest surprise since he has been promoted is how much Mark Wuertz understands our restaurant operations and the support that Mark and Susan have provided. Jeff indicated he is very much looking forward to getting to know his people better and is excited about the prospects for success in the Ralphie's organization.

Jeff's picture  would have been in this space but being the long time employee that he is, he knows of the newsletter jinx, which I think we have beaten, but he does not.  In the past it has been known that if you get a feature story in The Connection by the time it is published you are no longer employed with Bennett Enterprises.
Hence, there is no picture of Jeff here.