The SUBWAY restaurant chain announced that it has named six outstanding franchisees as recipients of its 2008 Franchisee of the Year awards and three highly respected members of its development community as recipients of its Development Agent of the Year awards during the company’s recent convention in Las Vegas.

This year’s SUBWAY Franchisee of the Year awards were presented to the overall winners of the multi-unit and single unit owner categories from North America and the chain’s international emerging and developed markets. Selected from among the chain’s more than 15,000 franchisees from around the world, the six recipients are: Morganna Barbosa of Brazil, Gustavo and Luis Ribeiro of Brazil, Christian Neipp and Monika Boden of Germany, Markku Jyrkiainen of Finland, Lyudmila Khononov of Brooklyn, New York, and Kent Yoder of Elkhart, Indiana.

“The franchisee is the heart and soul of the Subway family. We know that our success depends upon the initiative they take as individuals and their ability to work as a team. We take great pride in the hard work and effort made by the thousands of franchisees throughout the world and in the millions of customers that they serve,” says the SUBWAY restaurant chain’s Director of Development, Don Fertman.

In addition to the overall winners, the regional Franchisee of the Year recipients are :

International Emerging Market Multi-Unit Owners:
Morganna Barbosa of Brazil
Dominique Nenan and Franck Petit of France
Hemal and Vibha Shah of India
Eliud Fernando Elizondo Ochoa of Mexico
Feng Xia of China
Alejandro Rocha of Venezuela

Emerging Market Single Store Owners
Gustavo and Luis Ribeiro of Brazil
Istvan Daboczy of Hungary
Aladina Goulamhoussen of France
Sudhish and Vani Goenka of India
Carlos Enrique and Rosa Iliana Frias Cortes of Mexico
Martin Schaafsma and Wybe Blom of the Netherlands
Jia Wei and Yi Yang of China

International Developed Market Multi-Unit Owners
Cheryl and Russell Price of Queensland, Australia
David Coelho of Trinidad and Grenada
Jacqueline and Stephen Jones of Panama
Christian Neipp and Monika Boden of Germany
Ibrahim Hussain and Ali Al Fardan of the UAE
Gregory Blakney of Singapore
John Usher of England
Najam Mohammed of Scotland

International Developed Market Single Store Owners:
Diane Askew of Queensland, Australia
Cynthia Swanson of Puerto Rico
Gul and Luz Adriana Correa de Tolani of Panama
Roger Vasta of Germany
Burkhard Voss of Germany
Hamdan Sultan Al Kadhim, Flettin Marattukulam and Jojo Menonweedu of the UAE
Markku Jyrkiainen of Finland
Yun Goh Teo of Singapore
Farhat Abbas of England
David Grier of Scotland

North America Multi-Unit Owners:
Dean Heidt of Saskatchewan, Canada
Behzad Cohan-Hedyood and Sukhinderpal Gill of Los Angeles, CA
George and Susan Bailey of Richmond, KY.
Esther Yoder of Gainesville, FL
Jagmohan Sandhu of Ellcott, MD
Lyudmila Khononov of Brooklyn, NY
Kevin Perreault & Steven Barkley of Billings, MT
Gholam Ali Samadi of Corpus Christi, TX
Jonathan McCorsley in Bemen, GA
Bonnie Morgan of Rapids, IL
Vikas Sondhi of Bellingham, WA

North America Single Store Owners:
Jerry Solyma and Yvonne Von Grad of Saskatchewan, Canada
Maria Place of Ramona, CA
Kent Yoder of Elkhart, IN
George Cernansky of Tampa, FL
Mostofa Mohammad of Arlington, VA
Lue Titus of Milford, CT
Dora and Javier Idez of Little Neck, NY
Valerie Simondi of Buffalo, WY
Roderick Sims of Ruston, LA
Jack Jivan of Manning, SC
Robert and Vickie Lynn O’Neill of Maryville, IL
Jon Newmark of Everett, WA

Competing among 54 regional finalists from around the globe, the Franchisees of the Year are honored for accomplishments such as adding new stores, building sales, and increasing profitability while also achieving excellent store evaluations.

The recipients of the 2008 SUBWAY Development Agent of the Year awards are Raghu and Rohit Marwaha of California, Luis Ribeiro of Brazil, and Paul Heyes of Northern Ireland.

Often from the ranks of franchisees themselves, and chiefly responsible for building and managing a geographical territory, SUBWAY development agents, or DAs, provide their local franchisees with the necessary support and expertise to run a successful business.

Selected from among many outstanding candidates in the U.S., Canada, and the chain’s developed and emerging markets from around the globe, Development Agents of the Year are honored for their accomplishments in developing the SUBWAY brand within their territory, increasing sales and profitability and the level of service and support provided to their local franchisees.

“One of the many groups that play an important role in moving the Subway business forward is the development agent. They have set records in franchise sales, leases signed and restaurants opened time after time. They work tirelessly to implement the programs and initiatives that are helping our franchisees grow their businesses,” Fertman says.

The SUBWAY brand has been honored as the number one franchise opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine’s “Annual Franchise 500” listing for 15 of the past 21 years, and was ranked as “America’s Top Global Franchise” for 2008.