The past few days have been a somewhat unique time on the
Southeast campus. For most students it is the first time they have seen the
University close for a “snow day.” The last time the campus saw this kind of
winter weather impact the campus was in 2009. In fact, “Thursday and Friday's
winter storm event was the fourth largest in Cape Girardeau on record since the
blizzard of 1979 in terms of snowfall, according to Southeast Missourian
archives.” During that time the campus ended up housing and helping feed
recovery workers who were trying to clear roads, restore power, and check on
people in the region south of Cape Girardeau. Of course with the snow day has
come the major task of digging out all the sidewalks, parking lots, and steps
that make up the Southeast campus.
I want to use this opportunity to send a special thank you
to the staff of Chartwells at Southeast for their work during the time the
University was closed the weekend that followed. Chartwells provides a critical
service for our campus and with nearly 3,000 people on campus during this time,
Chartwells was able to do more than just keep a few food service venues up and
running, they were able to keep all the main campus venues open and even were
able to have the various retail venues including Subway, Olives, and Rowdy’s
open to provide students and staff with dining options.
There is one story that, while the Chartwells staff member
would not want to have shared, I think showcases this commitment to our
students better than anything I’ve heard in many years. Very early on Friday
morning, the Director for Chartwells was contacted by a local utility provider
asking if Chartwells could provide breakfast for the utility crews as they
headed out into the ongoing winter weather that Friday. Mary, the Sous Chef for
Chartwells, walked to campus early that morning (and by early I mean before
3:00am) to begin prepping for breakfast for both the utility crews and for our
students and staff living on campus. Other Chartwells team members arranged for
carpools with other Chartwells team members to help those who did not have a
vehicle that could make it to campus on Friday.
Trying to provide nearly 10,000 meals on a typical day is no
easy task, but trying to do this on a day when most of the City of Cape
Girardeau was covered in a mix of snow and ice was a monumental task. I am very
thankful for the work of the Chartwells team and their ability to work through one
of the worst winter storms our area has seen in about 35 years. At a time when everyone was being advised to
avoid travel except when absolutely needed, the Chartwells team made their way
to campus and honored their commitment to providing a quality dining program
for our students.
