A Wichita Falls restaurant owner will be receiving the highest honor from the Texas Restaurant Association. Greg Stockton, owner of four Golden Chick restaurants in Wichita Falls, is one of three inductees this year for the TRA Hall of Honor.

Stockton and his family opened the first Golden Chick in Wichita Falls in 1984. In those 32 years they've expanded to four locations and have made sure to be an active member of the community and many local non-profits.

Each year the TRA inducts members to the Hall of Honor  to recognize their significant contribution to the Texas restaurant industry and to the association. This years ceremony will take place at their 'Night Of Excellence' event on June 25th in Houston, TX.

Here is the full press release from the TRA announcing Stockton's induction:

Restaurateur Greg Stockton of Wichita Falls is one of three recent inductees into the Texas Restaurant Association’s (TRA) legendary Hall of Honor – the highest award the Association can bestow. The induction ceremony will take place at the TRA’s 2016 Night of Excellence on Saturday, June 25th at the Revention Music Center in Houston, located at 520 Texas Avenue. The event is held in conjunction with the TRA Marketplace, the second-largest industry foodservice show in the country.

To qualify, nominees must have a minimum of 15 years of TRA membership and exemplify superior business ethics. Criteria include significant time and energy devoted to the benefit of TRA and its members, as well as his or her local chapter. Nominees must also gain proper recognition for, and of, the restaurant industry and help to build the image of the food service industry overall.

“Induction into the Hall of Honor is the highest award we can give to publicly recognize those who have been great leaders, successful business people and a true beacon to others,” said Richie Jackson, TRA CEO. “They are the ones who work tirelessly to help their colleagues succeed and in serving others, elevate the entire industry. We couldn’t be more proud to honor them.”

Longtime residents of Wichita Falls may remember the first Golden Chick opened by Greg and his family in 1984. Now, thirty-two years later, he and his wife Cathy own and operate four locations. As his business grew, so too did his commitment to the community. Greg believes that while Golden Chick is a chain restaurant, it is foremost a locally-owned, family business with a responsibility to give back where and when it can.

He’s active in many local non-profits such as the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Wichita Falls Fire Fighters Association, and Maskat Shriners.

After joining the Texas Restaurant Association in 1985, Greg attended LeadershipTRA and then took a very active role in his local North Texas chapter, and the state organization. He served as chapter president four times, co-chairs the chapter’s annual golf tournament, and is the ‘pasta guy’ for the chapter’s annual Hotter N Hell Spaghetti Meal. Greg is a current member of the TRA Board of Directors.

Greg is thrilled about the honor. “My father was a basketball coach and was inducted into two different Halls of Fame: NAIA College Basketball and the College Athletic Director. That was the pinnacle of his career. Now I know how he felt. To be recognized by people whom I have worked alongside, respected and admired for over 30 years is a tremendous feeling and very humbling to me.”

Other 2016 nominees include Jeffrey Yarbrough, owner of bigInk PR & Real Estate in Dallas, and Russell Ybarra, president and CEO of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen and Jimmy Changas in Houston. Over the past 30 years of the award’s history, there have been 119 honorees.

For more information about Texas Restaurant Association and the Hall of Honor awards, visit www.restaurantville.com.

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