Mary Lynne Carraway - Bernhardt Wealth Management

Mary Lynne Carraway_________________The World’s Trials, The Soul’s TriumphsWhat is the measure of a story? Is it thedistance scaled between the point at which itbegins and the point at which it ends? If that werethe case, one might get the impression that MaryLynne Carraway’s life has been a straight lineconnecting these two points, when nothing couldbe further from the truth. In truth, the events thatseparate the four-year-old waitress drawing hercustomers’ orders in crayon from the woman whowon the Circle of Excellence Award as one ofWashington, D.C.’s top ten CEOs in 2010 dip evenas they soar. They show us, more than any madeupfairy tale or fabricated anecdotecould, how being true to one’s selfand one’s convictions can weave thegreatest trials into the greatesttriumphs. “If you try to live yourlife in accordance with theprinciples you feel to be true in yoursoul, I really believe that you’ll findyour place and everything youneed,” Mary Lynne describes.“Your story is unique to only you,and you can become anything youwant to be. Things you thoughtwould stop you in your tracks areforgivable and surmountable, so don’t give up.”With the moral of the story in mind, let usflip back to a different beginning, a differentending. Twenty-five years ago, a young mannamed Frank Meeks made the move fromMississippi to Washington, D.C. to attend lawschool. Strapped for cash, he got a job deliveringpizzas for extra money but soon realized howvaluable the business was and instead launchedhis own Dominos Pizza franchise. Everyone saidthe product wouldn’t catch on in D.C., but Frankwas soon able to add a couple more stores to hisrepertoire. It wasn’t until Frank’s story intersectedwith David Carraway’s, however, that thingsreally changed.David was a graduate of the University ofSouthern Mississippi who had come toWashington to work on a political campaign.Frank and David had been fraternity brothers, andafter reconnecting at a fraternity fundraising eventin DC, Frank persuaded him to join his team.David then worked through the MIT Manager-In-Training Program and soon became manager of hisown store before vaulting into the position of VicePresident. Together, Frank and David builtDomino’s Team Washington to sixty stores andover 1,400 employees, making them among themost successful franchisees in Domino’s history.Enter Mary Lynne, a young woman raisedin rural Pennsylvania with a past that was just asinteresting as her future promisedto be. The youngest of sevenchildren, she sensed the truemeasure of loss at the age of twowhen the family’s house burneddown along with all of theirpossessions. This devastation wasfurther compounded severalmonths later when one of herbrothers was killed in a car accident.Clinging to the restaurant they hadowned and operated for seventeenyears, Mary Lynne’s parents had atenacity and perseverance rarelycultivated in today’s generation. “They are peopleof substance, truly loyal to their cause,” MaryLynne reflects now.“I was raised in the back room of thatrestaurant,” she says, “coloring during the rushtimes and then coming out to help when theatmosphere was more laid back.” Though shewould do dishes, burn garbage, sweep, and mop,her favorite job was packing together thehamburger patties, and she remembers fondly howthe sense of necessity drew her family togetherunder the banner of honest hard work for the goodof the whole. “We all worked together, and it wasthe greatest gift my parents could have given us,”she emphasizes now.After her family sold their restaurant whenMary Lynne was fifteen, she continued workingfor the new owners for a time until she got a job as1

hostess at a Holiday Inn thirty miles away inIndiana. This was followed by a modeling job onthe weekends as she finished up her high schoolcareer. Opportunities in the fashion industrybegan unfolding for the young girl, and after muchconsideration, she decided to seize the day andleave Brigham Young University after herfreshman year to pursue them in Chicago.It was around this time that Mary Lynneflew out to Washington, DC to join her parents ona trip when she was stricken with appendicitis,forcing her to put her modeling career on hold andhead in another direction. Resolving to stay in thearea, she got a job as the manager of a MarriotHotel and moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland.A strong believer in the Mormon faith, shelater signed up for a mission trip and was in themidst of her preparations when she met DavidCarraway. “Getting married and having childrenwas always a focal goal of mine,” she explains,tracing this ambition back to the tremendous loveand support she enjoyed as a child from her ownfamily. A non-Mormon, David didn’t fit into themold she had always imagined for herself.Instead, he inspired Mary Lynne to love outsidethe lines of her own expectations.Free to move around and experience livingin D.C., New York, Paris, and Chicago, the youngcouple enjoyed happiness and prosperity save forone setback: their inability to have the childrenthey had always dreamed of. They adopted theirfirst daughter, Molly, and then learned of aEuropean doctor who had developed a brand newfertility treatment with great promise. Through afortuitous series of events, Mary Lynne was able tobe among the first U.S. patients to undergo theprocedure, resulting in the miracle of her first son,Carson. The blessing was replicated over thefollowing years with the births of Brandon andthen Hannah, filling the Carraway house with theabundant love it had yearned for so dearly.“In a way, I think many of our greatesttrials are uniquely made for us to serve as realtests,” she reflects. “Tests of faith, tests of trying tounderstand it all. And even though it’s hard, italways comes back to what I know is true andgood about this life and beyond this life.” Whileher story thus far had certainly helped to outlinethis ideology, it wasn’t until several years later thatit was leant more breadth and conviction whenFrank Meeks fell gravely ill and David wasdiagnosed with brain cancer shortly afterward.Dominos lost a wonderful friend and franchiseewhen Frank then passed away, but with his owncancer in remission, David concentrated his energyon helping Mary Lynne learn the ropes of TeamWashington. The family hoped for the best butfaced the odds realistically, striving to equip MaryLynne with the tools she would need to fill theshoes of her mentor and husband if necessary.“It’s a mental strength you have to gain throughyour life,” she says now, reflecting on theexperience. “It’s holding on and enduring—notjust enduring, but enduring well.”Despite these proactive strides, MaryLynne still found herself faced with an advancedlevelagility course when David took a tragic turnfor the worse. Because Dominos was acomparatively young company, the majority of itsleadership was still coming of age, and the suddenloss of such a pivotal figure presented challengesthat the young corporation was not prepared toface. Constrained by a web of established policiesand practices, Mary Lynne had to assumemanagement of a store and work her way throughthe ranks, fervently supplementing her work withaccelerated accounting classes and the Manager-in-Training Program David had taken. What’s more,Frank and David had been awarded seats inDomino’s Chairman Circle, among the company’smost coveted honors. “For me to step in, ahomemaker who had been at home with herchildren for twenty years, was definitelyunprecedented,” Mary Lynne recalls. “It wasunderstandably hard on everybody.” In the end,however, her efforts paid off, and she wasofficially named President and CEO of Domino’sTeam Washington only one week before Davidpassed away.With four children to support and decentmeans by which to do so, many people might findthe prospect of developing an entirely new rangeof aptitudes simply out of the question whendealing with the death of a spouse. For MaryLynne, however, stepping up to the plate herhusband had dedicated his life to developing wasa no-brainer. “It was a very interesting and tryingtime, but I always knew I was supposed to do it,”she explains. Through David’s tremendouspassion and commitment to the company,Dominos had truly become part of the Carrawayfamily. “I look at these guys that work for us withgreat admiration,” says Mary Lynne. “David waspart of their team, and for many of them, losing2

him was like losing a brother or a father figure. Iknew Frank and David’s deaths would eithermake us pull together or jump ship.”Incredibly, this time of devastatingtransition didn’t drive a single employee fromTeam Washington’s upper management ranks, andas Mary Lynne sits on the Board of Dominos PizzaWorldwide today, other leaders are constantlyasking how they might instill the same culture offamily and closeness that has always defined theWashington franchises. “I think we really standout because of what we’ve been through,” shepoints out. She also promotes the commitment tobalance between work life and family life thatDavid himself always maintained, augmenting hisapproach with her own presence, which lends acalming and peaceful element to an otherwisecompetitive and thick-skinned industry. Aboveall, Mary Lynne understands that her employeesare people with good days, bad days, and familiesof their own. She not only embraces this reality,but celebrates and encourages it, ever attuned tothe evolving character and needs of both heremployees and of the company as a whole.This respect and appreciation for the softerside of business is infused in the management styleand leadership philosophy Mary Lynne strives toenforce every day throughout Team Washington,Inc. Integrity is paramount throughout itsfranchises in both workers and managers. Idealslike honesty and respect can be difficult tomaintain in an environment that can get heatedand intense at times, but Mary Lynne expectsnothing less from her employees. “I don’t carehow intense it gets. Everyone is to be treatedhumanely and kindly at all times,” she affirms.“David would want us all to learn to be a littlekinder, a little gentler.” For her, leading atDominos through example is just another avenuethrough which David’s life and work can be keptalive. “When people get distanced from asituation like the loss of David, they tend to forgetthe lessons that came along with it,” she observes.“Instead, I focus on remembering and conveyingthem everyday.”With so much texture to her story, it comesas no surprise that Mary Lynne’s advice to youngentrepreneurs maintains the same element oftimeless relevance outside of the workplace as itdoes within a business setting. “From one momentto the next, a bad day can transform into a greatday, so don’t get lost in the moment thinkingsomething is too hard to handle,” she says. “Try tobe a positive person in all that you do. Not only isthis attitude infectious, but it conveys to othersthat you have the kind of depth that allows you tolearn from your hardships rather than shy awayfrom them.” Indeed, it conveys the will not only tolive your own story, but to examine it, coming toknow and embrace its characters, themes, andmorals. It shows the courage it takes to find yourown ending, and in that ending, a new beginningfrom which to persevere. By Gordon J. Bernhardt, CPA, PFS, CFP ® , AIF ®About Gordon J. BernhardtPresident and founder of Bernhardt WealthManagement and author of Profiles in Success:Inspiration from Executive Leaders in theWashington D.C. Area, Gordon provides financialplanning and wealth management services to affluentindividuals, families and business-owners throughoutthe Washington, DC area. Since establishing his firmin 1994, he and his team have been focused onproviding high-quality service and independentfinancial advice to help clients make informed decisionsabout their money. For more information, visitwww.BernhardtWealth.com and Gordon’s Blog.3