T.R. McGrath '23

Chef/owner
McGrath Clambakes & Catering

Award Profile

Courageous Thinking and Action
T.R. McGrath has consistently demonstrated leadership skills to his team and the community, allowing him to propel his business into various opportunities and eventually leading him to be one of Rhode Island’s most well-known and respected leaders in the hospitality industry. T.R. leads McGrath Clambakes, Inc., a full-service catering company that operates out of Newport. As a third generation bakemaster, T.R. has overseen significant growth of the company that his parents founded over 54 years ago. McGrath Clambakes, Inc. has expanded its offerings to grow its market base and status as one of the elite area caterers.

Vision and Innovation
As a leader in the state’s hospitality industry, T.R. is very active in advocating for his industry. Rhode Island’s natural beauty and many amenities offer the perfect combination for visitors to come to the state to explore and indulge in Rhode Island’s hospitality. With a lifetime dedicated to the hospitality industry, T.R. believes that growing the industry can only help the state with future job growth and prosperity. The future beneficiaries of that growth will of course be some of the students that are currently in ProStart High School programs throughout Rhode Island. T.R. has been an active mentor to the ProStart High School program. He continues to share his enthusiasm for the hospitality industry with these young students. Many of these students have been inspired by his encouragement, leadership, and industry knowledge.

Inspiring Leadership
While classroom experience is required to learn the fundamentals of culinary and management skills, nothing beats on-the-job experience. T.R.’s leadership has demonstrated to students how to be an industry professional through hands-on work under his supervision. His mentoring has assisted many students in making the connection between their current situation and their future career. T.R.’s kindness and leadership have shaped the young minds of these students over the years, particularly those at the Newport Area Career and Technical Center and the Exeter Job Corps Academy. T.R. has served as a judge for the annual ProStart High School Culinary Arts, Food Service and Hospitality Management competition at our State Competition. Last year, he paid a visit to the Newport Area Career and Technical Center to judge their senior culinary projects, provide feedback, and teach them some executional skills. Every year, the Exeter Job Corps Academy students look forward to working with him at the RI Hospitality Association’s Annual Golf Tournament. When working with them at this event, he exudes positivity and patience; many of these students have gone on to assist him at private events.

Community Mindedness
T.R. is an outspoken supporter of community service, education, and leadership. His enthusiasm for assisting at the high school level is just the tip of the iceberg. T.R. and McGrath Clambakes, Inc. have supported and sponsored numerous local charities, pairing with many of them as an in-kind sponsor for major fundraising galas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, T.R. and McGrath Clambakes, Inc. began a partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Newport to help with the Center’s Hunger Services programs. What began out of a want to help the local community through tough times has sustained to this day with McGrath Clambakes still offering a lunch program two days a week at the Center.

Additionally, T.R. currently serves on various boards and committees including those of Discover Newport, the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, the Newport County Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee, and the 1SG P. Andrew McKenna Chapter #004 of the Irish Veterans. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce and the Newport Rugby Football Club.

JA Mission Moment
“I fondly remember participating in several Junior Achievement programs during my high school years that were sponsored at the time by then Fleet Bank. The programs I participated in as a student fostered a spirit of entrepreneurship, and in doing so, pushed my classmates and I to not only develop business concepts, but to take on the responsibility to execute those business concepts by producing marketable products. The lessons that JA provides are those that are not just learned inside of the classroom walls, but also those that are learned outside in the real world. Working with students to share real world experiences with them is very rewarding. When the students execute shoulder to shoulder with our team members you can see on their faces that they now are connecting all of the lessons that they have learned in the classroom to a practical application. Junior Achievement taught me to extrapolate my lessons learned to the real world, and hopefully the students that we are interacting with will have the same experience.”