It isn’t often his crew can get one over Ernie Vasquez Sanchez.

The Pico Rivera McDonald’s general manager, 38, knew something was up on Oct. 1, when circumstances seemed to prevent him from returning to his East Whittier Avenue restaurant after a meeting of other general managers.

One of his colleagues was even adamant he not check the store cameras on his laptop. Another insisted they carpool back.

The reason was obvious enough when Sanchez saw a balloon arch in the store and heard a mariachi band strike up a tune.

“I opened the door and thought, ‘What’s happening?’ I was just worried about my store,” he said.

What was happening was an awards ceremony only the top 1% of McDonald’s managers earn. Sanchez was named a Ray Kroc Awardee, an honor named after the McDonald’s founder th

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