Subway crowns top sandwich artist

Subway crowns top sandwich artist
Tags: Industry Services, Operations Management, Sandwich
September 30, 2009

The recent 2009 Subway Convention in Washington, D.C., included a contest to find its best and fastest sandwich artist.

The 2009 Subway Sub Jammers competition judges sandwich artists on speed, sandwich appearance, content distribution and formula accuracy. Sandwich artists taking part in the Sub Jammers competition won regional events leading up to the championship round at the annual Convention.

This year, the third time was a charm for Neenah, Wis., sandwich artist Bryon Shea, who won by making a "perfect" footlong submarine sandwich in 42.1 seconds. Shea, who came in second place in 2007 and 2008 Sub Jammer competitions, beat a field of almost 100 fellow-sandwich artists from throughout the world. He also received the $3,000 top prize.

The competition was sponsored by Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies and Schreiber Foods.

"This competition is fast-paced, fun and one of the highlights of the convention, not just for the sandwich artists, but also for all the attendees," said Tom Coba, chief operations officer for the brand. "The sandwich artist is probably the person most responsible for creating a great experience for our customers and this competition is a great way to recognize their efforts and put a well-deserved spot light on them for awhile."

Shea has worked for 8 years as a sandwich artist and manager at the Subway restaurant on Green Bay Road, in Neenah. He would like to eventually own his own restaurant.

Technology vendor of the year

Subway's aso honorsed its vendors during the convention.

Subway named SkillSoft PLC, a provider of on demand e-learning and performance support solutions, as its Technology Vendor of the Year for 2009. This marks the third consecutive year that SkillSoft has won the award for working with the Subway brand to bring technology-enabled learning to employees through the University of Subway.

"At Subway, our goal has been to bring information and lessons to more than 300,000 restaurant employees in 91 countries, and SkillSoft has been a valuable partner for us in that endeavor," said Bonnie Zownir, director, worldwide training, Doctor's Associates Inc., the Subway brand's parent company.

Additionally, two SkillSoft employees, Julie Pitcher, learning srategist, and Colin Halford, virtual program manager, also were nominated for the brand's Leadership Award and Excellence in Customer Service Award, respectively.

Since October 2005, SkillSoft has been the e-learning platform, content provider and program management support for the Subway brand.