Throughout the South her passion for Krystal will soon be known, Franklin woman inducted into burger chain’s Hall of Fame
By Donna O'Neil, Staff writer
doneil@williamsonherald.com
You won’t see Terry Rogers’ face on a milk carton, but beginning in January you may see her face on a Krystal burger box.
The Oakview Elementary School second-grade teacher can’t ever remember a time when Krystal burgers were not a staple in her diet. In fact, when she asked her parents, they told her she started eating them when she was about 3 years old.
Today, she said, “As an Orthodox Christian, there are periods of time when I fast from meat, but during the rest of the year, I eat Krystal burgers once or twice each month.”
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, in front of family and friends Rogers was inducted into the Krytal Lovers Hall of Fame at her favorite Krystal location, 1412 Murfreesboro Road in Franklin. She was chosen among as one of 10 as a member of the Class of 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame inductees. Krystal’s Corporate representative Keith Moody said, “More than 17,000 people applied to be inducted in this year’s class.”
Rogers’ recognition comes nearly a year after she entered a nationwide contest. Encouraged by her friend and Heritage Elementary School principal Laura LaChance, Rogers entered her story via the company’s Web site. The annual contest seeks unique stories from their customers and requests why they should be chosen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The contest, now in its fifth year, has netted 75 inductees to date. This year other winners are from Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Indiana and three are from Tennessee.
“We love Krystal so much, our sons-in-law had to promise their love for Krystal’s before we gave them our blessing to marry our daughters,” wrote Rogers in her contest application. This statement also appears on the 1 million boxes that will be printed and served to customers at all locations across the south starting at the beginning of the year.
According to a Krystal corporate press release, “It’s a tradition to ask a girl’s parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage. However, Terry Rogers has one more condition on her list before approving such a union and that includes professing love for her daughter and also for Krystal. Not only did one but two of Rogers’ sons-in-law have to go through her strict screening process. Then and only then did they receive Rogers’ final blessing. And of course, the new family members joined in one more tradition – eating at Krystal for the Easter holiday. Rogers exclaims, ‘Where does my family go to eat after 40 days of fasting for Lent? Krystal!’ Year after year in true Krystal fashion, Rogers orders her favorite meal – the No. 1 combo with four Krystals (extra mustard) and a large Diet Coke. And although a woman of tradition, Rogers does let both her sons-in-law choose their own Krystal meal. But when it comes to Krystal, the whole family is in agreement – you can’t beat the Famous Krystal Burger.”
As she stood in front of more than a dozen members of her family to formally acknowledge her Hall of Fame honor, she told the gathering that she even had a Krystal burger on her wedding night. “I am a diabetic,” she said, “And after I checked my levels, I found I needed a snack before bed. We went out and found a Krystal and knowing that one burger is good for a bedtime snack, I ate it as a bedtime snack.”
As many moms on the go know, many meals are spent in the car. Rogers is no different. When she would go through the drive-thru, Rogers would purchase a Krystal sackful and hand one burger to each child. Each child knew, and so now do her grandchildren, that if they want to get another burger they have to hand in a “ticket” or an empty burger sleeve.
Rogers is using her Krystal experience in her classroom as well. She said, “I am teaching my students that you need to put yourself out there. I like to tell them, ‘It’s OK to try and try and fail, but it’s not OK to fail to try.’ The students are really excited for me.”
At the Induction Ceremony her friends and family received complimentary Krystal meals and cake. Rogers received her own box featuring her likeness, a quote that describes her passion for Krystal and personal facts, including her hometown, Franklin, TN; and her favorite meal designation, the Famous Krystal burger with extra mustard. An official plaque will hang in Krystal’s Murfreesboro Road location and she will be forever enshrined in the Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame on Krystal.com.
Among her educational achievements she was named as a Williamson County educator of the year for the 2008-09 academic year and was named an Exemplary Educator by SMART Technology in Calgary, Ontario, Canada.
Posted on: 12/17/2009
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