Spurred on by the success of Sandy's in Iowa sister city Cedar Rapids, Sandy's built a location in the prosperous city of Marion in late 1965. Mr. Ron Burris was the manager of this location which was the second of what was to be five strong Sandy's restaurants in the area.
Mr. Burris was a rising star within the company as was evident by his work ethic. His method was pure and simple, follow Sandy's proven guidelines to have a successful career.
Click here to see Sandy's employee handbook which covers these principles! 
Not only did Mr. Burris manage Sandy's in Marion, he also moved for the company to California and succeeded in turning around the corporation's two new struggling locations. Mr. Burris' excellent work ethic led him to become a Sandy's Supervisor (District Manager). Soon he was on his way to corporate office in Kewanee, Illinois, leading a successful career which spans five decades, starting with Sandy's and continuing with Hardees.
Many thanks to Mr. Burris who provided everything on this page as well as invaluable information on the two "lost" Sandy's of California.
In 1968, Sandy's was riding high, booming throughout the country with newly opened locations. Picking up on the theme of the hit song "Up, Up and Away (in my Beautiful Balloon)", Sandy's, now with over 200 locations, met in what was most likely the most powerful market for the company. The city was Peoria, Illinois, birthplace of the first Sandy's location.
Martin O'Connor, President of Sandy's Corp., welcomed the company with a statement of the prosperity of Sandy's which made itself evident in the beautiful new Sandy's headquarters in Kewanee, Illinois. As an up and coming emerging leader, Mr. Burris met with Mr. O'Connor as evident in this picture; (back left to right, Tom Daly, Quincy, Illinois, Ron Burris, Marion, Illinois, Ed King, Marshalltown, Iowa,
In addition to the excitement of the exploding growth of Sandy's, Bart Starr, Hall of Fame Quarterback was the featured speaker!
Click here to view the 1968 convention booklet!
Here is a picture of the front and back of the actual pocket itenerary as well as Mr. Burris' 1968 name badge. It is now, as of 2005, over three and one-half decades since he wore it as a young manager to the convention!
In addition to Bart Starr, two other highlights were a bus trip to see the new Sandy's national headquarters in Kewanee as well as an after meeting trip to the Bahamas for those who chose to go!
The current advertising campaign for Sandy's during the 1968 convention was Miss Sandy for President! This was a very effective campaign as evident by Sandy fan Bill Burns who remembers the ad from the late 60's. Our Sandy's was next to Our Lady of Lourdes grade school in Cincinnati, Ohio. I went there as a boy from 1967 to 1970. I remember when Miss Sandy "officially" ran for president in 1968. This was the same year that the Snoopy for president song was popular. I remember when Miss Sandy pulled out of the race and she said to vote for the candidate of your choice! Here is the campaign button from the 1968 Miss Sandy for President campaign!
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Marion, Iowa or elsewhere, please email me!
