By CLAYTON PARK

Shannon Hall, an outgoing 11-year-old who has been helping out at his parents' restaurant for the past two years, was recently honored as the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce's "Future Entrepreneur of the Year."

Shannon, a sixth-grader at Future Entrepreneur of Year', received a standing ovation from the audience when he strode to the podium to receive the surprise award at the Chamber's annual dinner, Feb. 20.

Shannon works a three-hour evening shift, from 6-9 p.m., several nights a week at Gordito's Healthy Mexican Food restaurant, located at 213 N. 85th.

Gordito's is owned by Shannon's parents, Marlene Hall and Gabriel Ramirez, who say having their son help them at the restaurant allows them to spend more time together as a family. Shannon and his family live in the Haller Lake neighborhood.

"His main job at the restaurant is to take orders from customers in line and to answer phone orders," says Marlene. "He loves it. He's real chatty like myself. He entertains the crowd by holding jumping competitions and 'Who Can Bend Lower?' competitions" with customers.

Marlene says her son had no idea he was going to receive an award from the Chamber. "They asked him to be a guest speaker at their annual awards ceremony," says Marlene. "He got so excited, he typed up a speech."

Shannon proudly shows off his award, which is displayed at Gordito's. His speech reads: "Hi...my name is Shannon. I am honored to be here tonight. My parents own Gordito's. OK, my parents and I own Gordito's. We've had the business 4-1/2 years. When we first started the business, I used to just sit in the back in my play corner or stand in the front and watch. Now that I'm 11, I work every night.

"I enjoy my job ... except when people talk down to me, but then again I talk back down to them. I know that's not right, but I can't help myself. My parents and I are working on that.

"But other than that, I love my job. I feel that customer service is very important. We have a saying ... treat others the way you want to be treated. Thank you."

Gary Teachout, the owner of Gary's Games in Greenwood who serves as the Chamber's treasurer, says Shannon has made a lot of friends, both among Gordito's regular customers as well as in the community. "He's becoming something of a legend ... a little neighborhood icon. Here's a kid that's going to go someplace," says Teachout.

When asked what he would like to be when he grows up, Shannon replies: "I'd like to be an architect. But I'm also trying to work on my snowboard to get my speed fast to be a pro. That and skateboarding." Would he ever be interested in running his own restaurant? "Yeah," he says, looking at the long line of customers waiting for him to take their orders. "A SMALL one!"