The IFA celebrates significant contributions to franchising

The International Franchise Association (IFA) announced it will award its highest honors to people who’ve contributed to the growth of franchising and the service to their communities. These awards will be given at the 64th IFA Annual Convention in Phoenix.

“This year’s recipients are the embodiment of the franchise model at its finest,” said IFA President and CEO Matt Haller. “Their hard work, drive, and entrepreneurial spirit have fueled not only their professional achievements, but also opened the doors for so many others to pursue the American dream.”

The 2023 IFA major award winners include: 

Hall of Fame Award: Catherine Monson, Propelled Brands, CEO. The award recognizes a franchisor or franchisee who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the franchise business model and to the benefit of the IFA mission.

Catherine Monson is a passionate advocate for the franchising business model, serving as a leading voice for the entire industry. As the only two-term chair of the IFA, she guided not only the organization through one of the toughest challenges it has yet faced, but also the entire franchising community, which came out of the pandemic stronger than ever. As CEO of Fastsigns, she led the creation of Propelled Brands, the multi-brand franchising company that brought together Fastsigns, NerdsToGo and My Salon Suite.

Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, co-founders, College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving. The award honors founders or franchising executives who have successfully built or grown a business in the franchise sector.

Winning a $10,000 entrepreneurship prize through the University of Miami, they carried out their vision to build a world-class fully branded and systemized operation for serving clients using a centralized call center to boost efficiency, allowing franchisees to handle more jobs more quickly, resulting in more profits for the franchisees. Their business has grown exponentially into a franchising powerhouse, becoming the largest and fastest-growing junk removal and moving franchise in North America with an annual turnover of $300 million and more than 250 franchises.

Bonny Levine Award: Tamra Kennedy, Twin City TJS Inc. (Taco John’s), franchisee. The award recognizes the importance of mentorship in the franchising sector and was designed to recognize women leaders who have placed an intentional focus on growing and mentoring future leaders.

Starting as a secretary for a Taco John’s owner, Kennedy worked her way up the ladder and eventually bought the restaurant company. Today, she is a multi-unit franchisee in the Twin Cities area. She has mentored a number of her own employees to become franchisees and inspired other women to get involved in franchising. An active member in IFA, she goes out of her way to advance the business model and support women in their franchise journeys.

Ronald E. Harrison Award: Paul Pickett, Wild Birds Unlimited, chief development officer, EVP of franchising. The award recognizes an organization or individual with a demonstrated, tangible commitment to increasing diversity in franchising.

Picket has been in the franchise space for 34 years and has consistently been a champion for inclusiveness and diversity. In 2019, Picket, along with Mark Jameson of Propelled Brands, took the initiative to establish and chair the IFA’s Pride Franchise Leadership Council to let the world know the franchising community is open to all and that franchising is a safe space. He was also the 2020 Crystal Compass recipient for his support of women in franchising, only the second male to be given this recognition in the history of the award.

William Rosenberg Foundation Leadership Award: Tony Valle, managing partner of Clear Summit Group. Named in honor of the man whose vision and leadership led to the creation of the IFA Foundation, this award is presented each year to an individual who has helped share the franchising story through education and outreach.

Valle has spent his career building high-performance brands and creating learning organizations. He began as a 19-year-old running a College Pro franchise, and for the next three decades, he worked in various executive positions in some of the world’s largest multi-brand franchising platforms, including FirstService Brands. He has been a leader in program creation and change in the IFA. He has been a trustee for the ICFE, co-founded the Nextgen Program, and helped launch the Emerging Franchisor Boot Camp. As past chair of the IFA Foundation, he stewarded the growth of new program initiatives, led it through Covid, and helped realign its focus to support the IFA mission and values.

To learn more about the honorees, click here, and click here for a list of past honorees.