This is an exciting time for BPA as we prepare for the 2011 NLC in Washington DC! We need your help bringing President Obama to BPA.
Let's start by taking a minute to wish Mr. President a Wonderful Birthday Celebration on August 4. Take a minute and send a message of well-wishes on behalf of BPA today!
Copy and paste the selected message and send it to the address below:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
"Mr. President: Thank you for your support of student organizations everywhere! We hope you have a wonderful Birthday Celebration and we hope you can join us on May 4, 2011 in DC for our 45th annual student conference. Your friend at Business Professionals of America"
BPA
BUSINESS EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
NAMED AT 2010 SLC
SALLY J. SMITH
President & Chief
Executive Officer
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Minneapolis-based BUFFALO
WILD WINGS,
Sally J. Smith is in charge of leading this top-10 fastest-growing
national restaurant chain,
which includes more than 650 restaurants across 42 states.
Winner of the prestigious Gold Plate Award by International Food Manufacturer’s
Association (IFMA) in May 2009 and named Restaurants & Institutions
magazine’s Restaurant Executive of the Year in 2005, Smith was
hired in 1994 as BUFFALO WILD WINGS’ Chief Financial Officer
and was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer in 1996.
Additional honors include Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of
the Year for the Midwest Region in 2001, North Dakota Innovator of
the year in 2002 and the Golden Chain Award in 2003. Smith’s
previous experience includes the international accounting and consulting
firm, KPMG, LLP and 11 years at the national franchise company Dahlberg,
Inc. (now Miracle-Ear, Inc.), where she completed her tenure as Chief
Financial Officer.
As President and CEO of BUFFALO WILD WINGS, Smith went on to establish
a sound infrastructure and has put in place a talented leadership team
that has guided the company to where it stands today. A credit to her
leadership skills and boundless energy, BUFFALO WILD WINGS has experienced
phenomenal growth under her management. The company has expanded from
35 locations in 1994 to more than 600 today and also executed a successful
Initial Public Offering in November 2003. Smith continues to keep BUFFALO
WILD WINGS on track with its aggressive 15% annual unit growth, 20%
plus net earnings and 25% revenue annual growth rate. In addition,
BUFFALO WILD WINGS has been named as one of the 200 best small companies
in 2007 and 2008 as well as Restaurant and Institutions Chain of the
Year in 2007.
A native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Smith is a graduate of the
University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
and Accounting degree. She is a member of the National Restaurant Association
Board of Directors, Chairman of the University of North Dakota College
of Business and Public Administration Advisory Council, a director
of Alerus Financial Corporation and a member of Women Corporate Directors.
Smith was awarded the Sioux Award 2004, the highest honor given to
alumni at the University of North Dakota.
