Bob and Beverly Balch are Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Inductees #83

As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end,” which is the case for the 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies. The 10th and final inductees, Bob and Beverly Balch, celebrated their Krystal story and new honor last Friday in St. Augustine, Fla.

Friends and family were gathered around to hear the couple tell their tale – not of how many burgers they’ve eaten, but of a match made at Krystal. The story goes back five decades and explains how Bob, then a young Naval cadet, was able to woo Beverly over to his car that was parked in the Krystal parking lot in Mobile, Ala. Now 50 years and eight grandkids later, they are still enjoying a happy marriage and thank Krystal for the match-making help.

At their induction ceremony, Krystal’s executive team recognized the Balches with a life-size illustration of their very own Krystal Hamburger box, a Krystal plaque to be hung in the St. Augustine restaurant for all of eternity and a complimentary meal for the couple’s friends and family. To view photos of their induction ceremony, see below.

Also, stay tuned to learn more about the launch date for when the Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Hamburger Boxes will roll out. It won’t be long before you’ll see the shining faces of the 2009 class on Krystal boxes in all 385 Krystal restaurants systemwide!

To read more about the Balch’s Krystal Lover story in the St. Augustine Record, click here.

Kris Underwood is Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Inductee # 85

On Friday, Jan. 8, Krystal inducted Knoxville native Kris Underwood into its 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. Underwood is being celebrated for his 30 plus years as a dedicated Krystal fan and for his unique Krystal story, where as a current Huntington, Ind. resident living outside of Krystal country, Underwood frequently travels more than 300 miles to the closest Krystal restaurant in Richmond, Ky. to satisfy his Krystal cravings.

At his induction ceremony, Krystal recognized Underwood with a life-size illustration of his very own Krystal Hamburger box, a Krystal plaque to be hung in the Richmond, Ky. restaurant for all of eternity and a complimentary meal for friends and family. Check out the good time that was had by all in the photo gallery below.

2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Inductees Tracy Hale of Jackson, Tenn. and Tracie Tolentino of Snellville, Ga. celebrated their new honor this past week. Hale and Tolentino were recognized with induction ceremonies at their favorite local Krystal restaurants where each received a life-size illustration of her very own Krystal Hamburger Box, Krystal plaques to be hung in their respective Jackson and Snellville-area restaurants and a complimentary meal for friends and family.

Hale reminisced with her husband Jason about their wedding day, both laughing that Hale couldn’t have made it through without her little, square Krystal Burgers. Commenting on her Krystal Box Hale says, “It couldn’t be more reflective of my Krystal Story. It’s just perfect.”

Tolentino was equally as excited this past Saturday as she shared her childhood Krystal story with friends and family. She loved attending dance classes every Wednesday as a little girl, but nothing compared to theweekly trips to Krystal afterward. According to Tolentino, “We didn’t eat out often, but Krystal was all I ever needed. I’ll be a Krystal Lover for life!”

Needless to say, a good time was had by all. To check out highlights from both events, see the photo gallery below.

Tracy Hale Induction Ceremony:

Tracie Tolentino Induction Ceremony:

Sidney Raper joins the Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame as Inductee #78.

This past Tuesday, Krystal inducted Kilmichael, Miss. resident Sidney Raper into its 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. Sidney is being celebrated for his Krystal story, where he proved that in the South, a Sackful of Krystals can be just as important to a fan as the SEC football game he’s about to watch. Now that’s saying something!

At his induction ceremony, Krystal recognized Raper with a life-size illustration of his very own Krystal Hamburger box, a Krystal plaque to be hung in the Ridgeland restaurant for all of eternity and a complimentary meal for friends and family. Photos of the event can be seen below.

Krystal will host induction ceremonies for all 10 new members throughout the month of December.

As the saying goes, “Ask and you shall receive.” Krystal did just that this past September as the company looked to its Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers to send in stories for the 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. After an overwhelming response, 10 individuals were chosen from the various social web and email submissions to be recognized.

The new class of Hall of Fame members will be featured on his or her very own Krystal Hamburger or Cheese Krystal box, which will be first unveiled at each guests’ exclusive ceremony before being used in the 385 Krystal restaurants across the South in early 2010.

Each box will include an illustration of the Hall of Famer, a quote that describes his or her passion for Krystal as well as personal facts such as the inductee’s hometown and favorite Krystal meal. Each inductee will also have his or her story featured here on Krystalist.com and be honored with an official plaque that will hang in the Hall of Famer’s favorite Krystal restaurant.

The first induction ceremony is for Charlie Capps of Columbus, Ga. and takes place at 1 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Krystal located at 3029 Manchester Hwy. In attendance will be Capps along with friends and family and representatives from Krystal.

Be sure to check back here for the dates and highlights from each of the Hall of Famers’ induction ceremonies that will continue throughout the month of December. For more information, visit the Krystal Newsroom.

The Class of 2009 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame Inductees include:

1. Charlie Capps of Columbus, Ga.
2. Adam Suslak of Jacksonville, Fla.
3. Sidney Raper of Kilmichael, Miss.
4. Tracy Hale of Jackson, Tenn.
5. Terry Rogers of Franklin, Tenn.
6. Angela Sims of Houston, Texas
7. John Wilson of Louisville, Tenn.
8. Bob Balch of St. Augustine, Fla.
9. Tracie Tolentino of Snellville, Ga.
10. Kris Underwood of Huntington, Ind.

An ESPN college football analyst, an NFL center for 10 seasons and football coach for over 17 years on the college circuit has just added another prestigious title to his resume – Krystal Lover Hall of Famer.  The story that took Coach Bill Curry from Georgia Football’s Hall of Fame to Krystal’s Hall of Fame goes a little something like this…

An occasional guest on ESPN’s popular sports-talk radio show, “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” which broadcasts live from Connecticut, Curry once promised host Mike Golic that he would Fed-Ex him a seven-course meal from the very best restaurant in the South. While Golic likely had a fancy, fine-dining establishment in mind, Curry chose Krystal. And the meal:  seven delicious Krystal Hamburgers served up in their legendary hamburger boxes. Thinking Golic might be miffed that his gourmet meal was seven hamburgers instead of a royal feast, Curry confronted him on the air to capture his reaction live. “Those hamburgers,” said Golic, “They didn’t even make it to the refrigerator! I ate them in one sitting, and they were delicious.” Curry noted, “You just can’t beat the taste of Krystal Hamburgers, even when they are mailed in dry ice all the way to Connecticut.”

Krystal will recognize Curry for his new honor with an induction ceremony in late February and by placing his mug on millions of the legendary Krystal Hamburger Boxes that will be distributed in over 400 Krystals across the South. Curry’s box will make its debut in restaurants starting the week of Feb. 9, so be sure to stop by your local Krystal to collect one. We almost guarantee that they’ll be worth money some day!

Want to read more? Click here for Curry’s Krystal story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Don’t you just love a good road trip? We do, and we especially like hearing about those that involve Krystal, which is why we’re featuring Gabby Champion today on krystalist!

Champion recently earned a spot in the 2008 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame for her dedication to the Krystal Hamburger. After a countless number of trips that required a drive of more than 90 miles to the nearest Krystal and a special journey for tailgating during The Big Game, Krystal decided it was time to give back. Please meet inductee #69, Gabby Champion.

At the Slidell induction ceremony, Krystal’s executive team recognized Champion with a life-size illustration of her very own Krystal Hamburger box, a Krystal plaque to be hung in the Slidell restaurant for all of eternity and a complimentary meal for Champion’s friends and family. As you can see from the photo to the right – a good time was had by all!

Click here to read more about Champion in The Baton Rouge Advocate.

Just about every student has a favorite study food. My roommate in college used to make a bag of popcorn every time she sat down to cram for a test. I always drove to the closest Tiger Mart to pick up a 64-ounce fountain diet coke and a donut. I know, nutritious and delicious! Too bad I couldn’t just take a seat right there at the convenient store to study and get free refills on my mega drink.

Unlike myself, 2008 Krystal Hall of Famer Everett Duke had it figured out. His food of choice – Krystal. Why so genius, you ask? Good lighting, comfortable seating, great food and of course, free Wi-Fi. This perfect combination of study aides helped Duke finish a term paper and ace an exam. Now, all of Duke’s fellow Auburn peers have caught on to his newly discovered study destination and are reaping the benefits. However, as the founding father of this study Mecca, Duke will be the only War Eagle inducted in to the 2008 Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame.

Want to try Duke’s favorite Krystal meal? It just might make you smarter.  Come to his official induction ceremony to find out what it is. We’ll be celebrating on Friday, Dec. 19 at 1:30 p.m. at the Krystal located at 1006 280 By-Pass in Phenix City, Ala., where Krystal will unveil Duke’s very own Krystal Hamburger box. See you there!
Click here to read Duke’s full story...

As parents, you have high hopes for your children – dreams that they will become doctors, lawyers, professional athletes, etc. Well, not everyone agrees on those high profile careers, especially not diehard Krystal fan Gator Harrison.

Harrison is an example of a father who does hope his daughter Roman will follow in his footsteps, but not to be an on-air DJ for WGSQ radio like him but rather a professional box stacker! Granted, this was just a hobby for Harrison, but with a little encouragement from dad and a lot of training, Roman just might make a full-time career out of Krystal box stacking. And of course dad will be around to help promote her skills on the radio!

However, little two-year old Roman isn’t quite old enough to submit her own Krystal story yet, so in the meantime, Krystal is honoring Gator Harrison for his great story and ongoing creative Krystal box stacking abilities. After all, he’s pretty talented and good teachers produce the best students.

If you’d like to hear more about this particular Hall of Famer, tune in online to 94.7 CountryGiant.com any day this week to hear Harrison’s on-air show, where he will be talking about his Krystal-ebrity experience. His induction ceremony will also take place at The Country Giant radio station in Cookeville, Tenn. located at 698 South Willow Ave. on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 11:00 a.m. where Krystal will unveil the inductee’s very own life-size Krystal Hamburger box.

Click here to read Harrison’s full story...