Gloria Noday, of Pierce Township, who owns four McDonald’s restaurants in Clermont County, was presented with the “Ronald” Award during the restaurant chain’s annual regional conference, held late last month in Columbus.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

The owner of four Clermont County McDonald’s restaurants was recently honored with a prestigious award from the restaurant chain.

The McDonald’s “Ronald” Award was presented to Gloria Noday, of Pierce Township, during the restaurant chain’s annual regional conference, held late last month in Columbus.

Gloria Noday and her husband Michael Noday own McDonald’s restaurants in New Richmond, Bethel, Amelia and Union Township.

The Ronald Award is given each year to the top franchise owners for the leadership and support they demonstrate to fellow franchise operators in the Ohio region. Gloria Noday is a shining example of an operator who truly embodies the brand, enriches the community and empowers their employees, according to a press release.

Gloria Noday said she is honored to be recognized with the award.

“My husband and I are very involved in our community,” she said.

Gloria Noday delivers coffee in her MINI Cooper, outfitted with a McCafé logo, to local rehabilitation homes as well as the Bethel-Tate Fire Department.

She supports numerous local faith organizations and offers local nonprofit groups coupon books that they can sell at a profit to raise funds.

“We’re involved in a lot of different ways, and we’re pretty well embedded in the community,” Gloria Noday said.

Gloria Noday said she’s also very involved with a number of local school districts and provides sponsorships for various athletic programs.

She estimates her and her husband’s monetary donations to total about $60,000 each year.

“We pretty much give to anybody if it’s legitimate,” she said. “We do a lot. It’s the right thing to do; we’re part of the community, they come to us, and we need to give back.”

She also serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati.

Gloria Noday, who used to work at her father’s cabinet business while teaching physical education and gifted courses in Maplewood, purchased her first McDonald’s restaurant, the Union Township location, 26 years ago.

Since then, she has been actively involved in many aspects of the McDonald’s chain both locally and regionally, according to a press release.

“The Amelia location was one of the first restaurants to take on all day breakfast before it went to all the markets,” Gloria Noday said. “We were training employees from other locations, and that worked out pretty well.”

Gloria Noday also serves as the regional chairperson of the restaurant chain’s National Relationships-Economic-Alignment-Leverage Team, which utilizes peer mentoring to help franchise operators understand and comply with the company’s guidelines.

“We coach and guide them through the various policies and processes,” she said.

Gloria Noday also provides guidance and mentoring to her employees.

“You just never know what the family life is of our employees. I want to make sure that they know we’re all family, and those are things we have to do, just like you would if you are a good parent, so they act the right way,” she said. “McDonald’s is a family.”