The California Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation recognized Tom
Shannon as “Restaurateur of the Year
2002” citing his entrepreneurial spirit for
creating award-winning restaurants.
In 1992, Shannon formed the T-Bird Restaurant Group to develop the Outback Steakhouse concept in California. Today the group has 62 Outback Steakhouse restaurants and continues to grow.
Tom, whose Irish grandparents settled in the Boston Harbor area in 1899, was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, and lived in Charlestown until he was ten, when his father, a U.S. Customs officer, was transferred to Miami. He completed high school at Archbishop Curley High School and earned a football/baseball scholarship to the University of Florida, where he graduated with a double degree in Marketing and Management.
Named the Most Valuable Player in the 1962 Gator Bowl, and inducted into both the football and baseball Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of Florida, Tom continues his involvement with his alma mater. He served as President of the National Letterman’s Association and Vice President of the Board of the University’s Athletic Association, as well as chairing the Advisory Board of the Business School for several years.
He is a founder, member, and president of the Gold Shield Foundation, a not-forprofit organization that provides financial support to the families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In addition, he is a past director of Straight, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for children. He was awarded Straight’s “Gratitude and Love Award” (one of only five honorees whose list included Nancy Reagan and Princess Diana).
Tom also serves on the Outback Steakhouse Foundation executive committee, and as the Outback Pro-Am Tournament Chairman he has helped raise over $600,000 annually for children’s charities in the Tampa Bay Area.
For his contributions to the community Tom has received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Florida.
In 2004, Tom received the “Spirit of Life Award” presented by the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, and in 2006, he joined the roster of distinguished Americans recognized for their significant contributions to their country, when he was presented with the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor award.
In 1992, Shannon formed the T-Bird Restaurant Group to develop the Outback Steakhouse concept in California. Today the group has 62 Outback Steakhouse restaurants and continues to grow.
Tom, whose Irish grandparents settled in the Boston Harbor area in 1899, was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, and lived in Charlestown until he was ten, when his father, a U.S. Customs officer, was transferred to Miami. He completed high school at Archbishop Curley High School and earned a football/baseball scholarship to the University of Florida, where he graduated with a double degree in Marketing and Management.
Named the Most Valuable Player in the 1962 Gator Bowl, and inducted into both the football and baseball Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of Florida, Tom continues his involvement with his alma mater. He served as President of the National Letterman’s Association and Vice President of the Board of the University’s Athletic Association, as well as chairing the Advisory Board of the Business School for several years.
He is a founder, member, and president of the Gold Shield Foundation, a not-forprofit organization that provides financial support to the families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In addition, he is a past director of Straight, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for children. He was awarded Straight’s “Gratitude and Love Award” (one of only five honorees whose list included Nancy Reagan and Princess Diana).
Tom also serves on the Outback Steakhouse Foundation executive committee, and as the Outback Pro-Am Tournament Chairman he has helped raise over $600,000 annually for children’s charities in the Tampa Bay Area.
For his contributions to the community Tom has received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Florida.
In 2004, Tom received the “Spirit of Life Award” presented by the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, and in 2006, he joined the roster of distinguished Americans recognized for their significant contributions to their country, when he was presented with the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor award.