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Board of Directors

David Bear 5
David Bear
Chairman & Director

David Bear is a second-generation McDonald’s Franchise Licensee and President of Bear Family Restaurants; currently operating 35 McDonald’s Restaurants in the Chicago suburbs. The Bear family purchased their very first restaurant in Elgin, Illinois in 1967. Over the past 55 years, the Bear family has been committed to serving with significance in every community which their restaurants are located.

Over the years, the Bear Family organization has been recognized for operational excellence, superior people practices, leadership and vision, and community service. They are two- time recipients of the Ronald Award and the LEO (Leading Edge Operator Award). More notably, in 2013, the Bear Family was recognized as the Illinois Family Business of the Year for Community Service. This was the first time the highly coveted recognition was awarded to a McDonald’s Franchisee.

Larry Tripplett
Larry Tripplett
Vice Chairman & Director

Larry C. Tripplett has been an Owner since 1988. He owns and operates seven McDonald’s Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently serving as Chairman and CEO of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA) for the second time. Larry is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Investor. He has served on the Co-Op Board, Stanford University School of Education Advisory Board, and the Peninsula Boys and Girls Club as Board President. As President of of the Boys and Girls Club, he helped raise 8 million dollars to build a new club and completely remodel another one. He has been a Board Member for the Stanford Ronald House. He was recently recognized for donating the equivalent of $500,000 in meals for the popular Friday night meals program at the house. Larry, a former educator, supports local schools by donating for scholarships. He has received numerous McDonald’s awards including the Ronald Award. He also worked as a Crew person for McDonald’s in one of the old “red and whites” in the 1960’s.

Tom Dobski
Tom Dobski
Treasurer & Director

Tom Dobski’s family operates 19 restaurants in Kansas and have been in the business for 40 years. Tom is a leader in the community serving as a Denver Representative on the National Government Relations Team, VP at Earp Distribution Purchasing Committee as well as the Heartland Advisor Fund Chair. Tom is the recipient of both the Ronald McDonald and Golden Arches Awards as well as the Kansas Restaurant Hospitality Association Hall of Fame Award and Greater Topeka Business Of Distinction Award. He and his wife Marilyn have been married for 48 years and have three sons as well as 5 grandchildren.

Barry Traub
Barry Traub
Secretary & Director
Barry Traub has been in the McDonald’s system for 53 years, of which he has spent the past 41 as an operator. He and his son, Matt, owns nine stores in North Carolina. He has served in various positions including NOA Liaison for the Atlantic Coast CoOp, OPNAD rep for the Raleigh Region, Government Relations Rep, Board member on three Ronald McDonald Houses, Founding member of North Carolina Children’s Charities Advisory Board and Board of Directors for the Raleigh Dream Center. Barry is also the recipient of various awards, including multiple Top Ten Sales Awards, Top Ten Guest Count Awards, Streetfighter Award, and multiple Outstanding Store Awards. He received the 2021 Val Netland NOA  Advocate of the Year Award . He is the proud father of two and grandfather of two.
Joel Pellicci Sr
Joel Pellicci, Sr.
Director

Joel Pellicci Sr has been a Owner / Operator for just over 41 years. He, along with his wife Linda and son Joel, operates 13 restaurants in the Myrtle Beach, SC area. Prior to becoming a owner he served as a pilot in the United States Navy. With McDonald’s he served on the NOAB, NLC, and was a RLC Chair and Chairman of the East Division. He and his organization were recognized with the Golden Arch, Ronald Award, People, Mentor, Press On and Marketing Street Fighter Awards. Joel is honored to serve on your NOA Board of Directors helping represent the interest and point of view of the owners.

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David Horner
Director

David Horner is a 3rd Generation Owner Operator and has worked on all three legs of the stool. His family, including father, two brothers, and an uncle, owns 30 stores in Southern California. Prior to joining the family business, he received a BS in statistics from UC Santa Barbara, and an MS in statistics from Stanford. David has served as a leader on NSLC (Co-Lead of Scale for Good and Competitive Advantage sub-teams), National Digital Food Safety, Long Beach FAC, the City of Industry DC SCAC, SoCal Profit Team, CA Energy Team, and the SAP Hospitality and Quality teams. He is a passionate believer in the brand, the culture and the 3-Legged Stool.

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Toni Rodgers
Director

Toni Rodgers has been a McDonald’s Owner/Operator since 2004 beginning in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With 17 years of experience she has held multiple leadership roles including SEMMOA Coop President, SEMMOA Coop Vice President, SEMMOA Secretary, Vice-President of Women’s Operator Network - Michigan, SEMMOA Executive Board and Board of Directors Member, Profit Team Member, DLC Marketing Team Member, Women’s Operator Network - Rocky Mountain President, and RLC Executive Committee Member. She has also won numerous awards being the first African American woman to be named Rookie of the Year for the Michigan Region, multiple Outstanding Restaurant Awards and Outstanding Sales Awards – and currently runs three of the highest volume airport restaurants in the U.S. She is happily married to Benjamin Rodgers with blended family of wonderful children and grandchildren to fulfill her life. Toni enjoys traveling, reading poetry, shopping, event planning, decorating and exercising.

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Art Alamo
Director

Art Alamo currently serves, in partnership with his son Matt, as an Owner/Operator (2010 – Present) for MAAK Alamo LCC, a group of 19 McDonald franchises in Western Pennsylvania. Art began his McDonald’s journey back in 1976 as a crew person in Florida. He then worked his way up the system before culminating as Vice President and GM (March 1988 – September 2010) for McDonald’s Corporation. Since becoming an operator he has held or currently holds the following positions: Treasurer of J/A Co-op, Pittsburgh Region Equipment Team Lead, RLC Equipment Lead, NSLC Member, FAC Member, MHOA Director CFO, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald Houses of both Pittsburgh and Morgantown, WV, for over 9-years. In addition, he has been a financial sponsor for the local K9 Police Officer program. Also, as an advocate for local education, he sponsors over 40 McTeacher Nights per year and has been awarded multiple outstanding restaurants, sales, people, and regional contributor awards.

Fred Huebner
Fred Huebner
Director

As an Owner who has been with McDonald's for over 50 years, he has a unique perspective having spent 14 of those with the Company. Along with his wife Doris and son John, they own and operate 13 restaurants in the Raleigh, NC area.

Like many of you, Fred wants to ensure the brand's family atmosphere and a balanced 3-Legged stool continue in the years to come. This desire is what led him to run and win the NFLA East Zone Rep position in 2019, around the same time NOA was formed. His goal then and now is to make a difference.

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Dan Borba
Director

Dan Borba has been in the McDonald’s system for over fifty years, twenty-six of them as an operator. Dan and his wife Tami along with his two boys own six stores in San Jose California.  Dan has been a long-time member of the local Co-op board. During his time as an operator he has been a member of numerous operation teams. He has had several Ray Kroc winners and many Outstanding Store Awards over the years.

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Nellie Thomas
Director
Nellie Thomas has been a McDonald’s Owner Operator since 1987. With her husband, Herbert Jr., and her son Herbert III, they own 10 restaurants in the New Jersey/New York area. Nellie has held numerous local and national positions within the McDonald’s system, such as RLC Vice Chair, People Team Chair, Public Relations Committee, Metro New York NBMOA President, W.O.N. and NBMOA Boards, NFLA Franchising Team and NextGen Mentor.
 
Nellie’s organization is known in their community for their Second Chance Program that works with newly released incarcerated individuals by assisting them in developing a career within McDonald’s. 
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Kevin Lilly
Director
Kevin Lilly has just completed his 48th year in the business and his wife, Jeaneane, has been an approved owner/operator for 20 years.  Both look at this business as a team effort. Each is heavily involved in their 18 different communities where their 24 restaurants are in East Texas. Kevin is currently the NFLA ROIP Team Lead. He serves on Opnad representing AMOA and is the immediate former FAC chair for the Dallas Field Office. He is the Southern Zone President for AMOA and the 2nd Vice Chair on the Executive Board. Kevin has received many Outstanding Store Awards, and Jeaneane and him are two-time recipients of the Ronald Award, as well as being honored with the Fred Turner Golden Arch Award. Kevin and Jeaneane reside in Athens, Texas and enjoy traveling in their motorhome throughout the US.
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Jon Kelley
Director
Jon Kelley is a McDonald’s Owner/Operator in Texas and has worked in several other positions through the years. After moving to Texas and rejoining McDonald’s in 1994 with a seven-restaurant franchise, Jon helped grow Baibrook Partnership into a 64-restaurant company and one of the largest McDonald’s franchises in the country. During that time, Jon purchased his first McDonald’s restaurant in 2003. He has since grown his organization and with his son, they currently own and operate nine McDonald’s restaurants in North and East Texas.
 
Jon is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas Children’s Charity and on the Board of Directors of Owner Operator Services in Texas. Jon is married to his wife Sharon, and they celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in 2022. Jon and Sharon have five children and eleven grandchildren (so far!). Jon enjoys pickleball, tennis, skiing, golfing, hiking/camping, cooking, fine wine, traveling, reading and spending time with his family.
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Dale Thornton Jr.
Director
L. Dale Thornton, Jr is a native of Birmingham, AL. He graduated from Miles College in 2004 and immediately entered the McDonald's Owners/Operator program. He became an approved Owner/Operator in May of 2006 and purchased his father's Lakeshore location October of 2006. He and his father currently own and operate six restaurants in the Birmingham area. 
 
Dale is the past President of the Alabaster-Pelham Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated from 2012-2013. In 2019, Dale was asked to serve as the National Black McDonald’s Owner Association board representative for the Nashville Field Office. In this role, Dale represented the interest of African American owners in 9 states. Currently, Dale serves as West Zone Vice President. In this role, he works with the board representatives in the Nashville and Long Beach Field Offices, which covers California, Arizona, and Nevada. In addition, Dale has served on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board of Directors, Railroad Park Board of Directors, and as a Leukemia/Lymphoma committee member.
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Ted Lyon
Director
Ted J. Lyon graduated from Cornell University in 1974 and started as Crew in Ithaca, NY in 1973. Since then, he has held the title of Franchising Manager, Field Service Manager, Operations Manager, Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations, Regional Manager, Regional Vice President, and Owner Operator for locations in Albany, Chattanooga, Paris, Nashville, and Southern Kentucky.
 
Ted's experience has led him to receive the following recognitions: OpNad Rep 2005-2009, OpNad Chair 2010-2011, Co-op President – Mid Tenn 2015-2017, BU President 2018-2020, Ronald Award 2008, and Golden Arch Award 2012.