VALDOSTA — It was almost as exciting as winning The Oscar in Hollywood, says Bemiss Road Wendy’s Restaurant General Manager Anna Davis. Confetti fell from the sky. Fireworks exploded. Spotlights encircled the winner of the Every Customer Counts contest.

One of four finalists called to the stage, Davis was shocked when her restaurant was named Best Wendy’s In The World out of more than 6,600 Wendy’s worldwide.

Davis and husband David flew to Dublin, Ohio, to Wendy’s corporate headquarters for the Sept. 28 awards banquet. There, managers from 14 Wendy’s restaurants who were selected as finalists in the tough competition were treated like relatives of Wendy’s late founder Dave Thomas.

To get to the finals, the restaurants had to survive tedious, extreme, unannounced store inspections. Davis said she and her crew of 35 part-time employees and four managers began weathering the pressure of keeping their restaurant at 3983 Bemiss Road near Skipper Bridge Road sparkling clean and orderly, with an unsurpassed customer service.

The Wendy’s on Bemiss Road opened for business on July 24, 2004, and Davis has been general manager from the start.

“My initials are on the sidewalk outside,” Davis says with a grin.

When Wendy’s announced that it would stage the first worldwide Every Customer Counts contest this year, Davis’s crew was gung ho to go for it.

“When we got picked to go to the finals, we had a good feeling we could win it. We really thought we could,” Davis said. “But when my husband and I got up there and started to meet the other finalists, I began to think we might not win. My husband told me to stop being negative.”

When Davis was called to the stage as one of four finalists, she thought that at least she’d made the final four. “I thought, well, that’s pretty good. I can be happy with that.”

Then she was named world’s best in a blast of glory and fireworks.

The prestige of being the world’s best Wendy’s wasn’t all that Davis brought back with her. She got a cash prize of $35,000 for leading her team to victory. She could have chosen an alternate prize of her favorite color in a brand new Ford Mustang convertible, but opted for the money.

Assistant managers received cash prizes of $5,000 or alternate prizes of trips to Disney World or Hawaii, and associate managers received cash prices of $2,500 or alternate prizes of flat screen TVs or computers. Each of the 35 part time employees received cash prizes of $100 or alternate prizes of iPods or digital cameras.

And Davis got to bring back the trophy—a beautiful crystal Wendy’s cup in a padded carrying case that caused her a few delays in airports on the way back. Everywhere I went, airport security said, ‘Ma’am, you’re going to have to let us see what you have in there.’”

As district manager, Gerry Russo was sitting at the Lowndes County-Coffee County football game on Sept. 28 when his cell phone began to ring. Fans sitting around Russo on the Lowndes home side may have wondered why he was celebrating when there was no play to celebrate at that particular moment.

“I got text messages and several phone calls. Everyone was going crazy. It was pretty exciting,” Russo said.

Russo didn’t get to share in the prizes, but he says he got more out of knowing people he’s trained and mentored for years had been recognized as the best.

“Knowing that you are a part of the best in the world, and seeing the managers that you have seen grow up from 16 and 17 years old become the best in their field is incredible,” Russo said. “There are some things that are far more rewarding than money.”

Phillip Donaldson owns the Bemiss Road Wendy’s and is the only Wendy’s franchise owner in Valdosta. He opened his first Wendy’s in February 1976 at North Ashley Street. Other Wendy’s stores in the district are located at Five Points, West Hill Avenue, North St. Augustine Road, Lake Park, Adel, Vidalia, Waycross and Perry, Russo said.

One highlight of the trip prior to the awards banquet was the tour of Wendy’s headquarters, Davis said.

“We got to go in Dave Thomas’s office, which the family has turned into a study,” she said. “There was Wendy’s memorabilia everywhere. (The chain was begun by Thomas in 1969). And it was so cool. Here were all of these corporate officials, these big higher-ups in the company, all dressed casual, just like Dave Thomas. You only saw Dave wear a tie if he went on TV.”

Wendy’s also got the Columbus, Ohio zoo to close down so they could stage a private party and zoo tour for the 14 managers and their guests, Davis said.

“They treated us just like family. It was really great,” she said.

Whether her crew will enter the second annual Every Customer Counts contest next year is still being debated.

“I think they need a break. Those inspections were tough,” Davis said. “They showed up looking for chewing gum (in the parking lot). One of them said ‘It must be illegal to chew gum in Georgia because we can’t find any.’ It is so high pressure. If someone in the parking lot threw down a cigarette butt, and we didn’t find it before a surprise inspection, we would have lost instantly. So I don’t know if we’ll do it next year. We might take a year off.”

But they might not.

That shiny, clear, heavy crystal trophy is sort of like handling the NFL’s Super Bowl trophy.

And that’s infectious, almost addictive.

“We’ll see,” Davis said with a wry grin.