Announcing the winners of ezCater’s 2022 Employee Appreciation Day Contest
- ezCater
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- 3 Min Read
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In honor of Employee Appreciation Day, we asked our customers to share stories of how their teams have adapted and delivered during (yet another) difficult year. We received over 700 submissions, and we were blown away by all the amazing stories of teams who have gone above and beyond to support their community, customers, and each other.
We’re thrilled to announce the winners of ezCater’s 2022 Employee Appreciation Day Contest! Our grand prize winner and 4 honorable mentions will receive lunch for their entire team in honor of Employee Appreciation Day.
Grand Prize Winner
Springfield Memorial Hospital Engineering Department
Submitted by Brian G. – Supervisor Engineering Operations
“Working in the medical field has been taxing on just about everyone since the dawn of COVID in March 2020. What most people do not think about are the countless hours spent behind the scenes ensuring that nurses, doctors, leadership, and patients have the necessary equipment functioning when life depends on it. This may come in the form of reliable electricity, clean air from HVAC units, correct pressures and flows from medical gas, and most important oxygen delivery. These systems have been taxed in the past year with constant peaks of COVID cases but, our Engineering Colleagues have risen to the challenge and kept operations seamless.
Countless hours are spent by our team making sure these systems run in top performance, with many of those hours on overtime in the middle of the night. In our last snow storm which produced around 12-16 inches of snow, our Engineering department stepped up to help our grounds crew keep major entrances clear, plowed our main streets to keep ambulance traffic safe, and even picked up nurses and doctors to insure our patients had the needed care to get better. Our Carpenters have created over 80 negative air rooms to house COVID patients. These rooms draw air from the outside corridors and discharge out the windows. This airflow has kept our nursing staff safe during the pandemic.
Not many people think about Engineering when you talk about medical facilities but as I always put it to my children: without power no procedures can take place, without heating and air conditioning no one would be able to work, without water no one would be able to wash their hands or use the restroom, without fire alarms/nurse call systems the business would not even be allowed to operate. We might not be the face of healthcare but we are the heart of it!!
Engineering celebrates “Engineering Week” at the end of October. This is packed full of food, ice cream, and games. Myself and another Supervisor cook lunch for everyone during this week. I feel like these events do make colleagues feel appreciated, but our Engineering Supervisors try to reinforce that point during the weeks of normal operations by telling the guys how much we appreciate their hard work. During hard times we are right there with them getting our hands dirty so they can have time to take a break.”
Honorable Mention
Big Creek Veterinary Hospital
Submitted by Jodi H. – RVT, Practice Manager
“During the pandemic, the veterinary industry has not slowed down. In fact, it has done the opposite. Our Big Creek Veterinary Hospital family has dedicated our hearts and time to providing continuous quality care for our client’s fur companions – their family members whose care has been entrusted to us.
We give our hearts and souls into treating and caring for animals, whether it results in late night after hours emergency surgeries, or getting in early before the sun has come up or day has even started, and going home again once it’s dark outside. In order to be in this field, there is a certain level of compassion and work ethic that is required. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a patient on their way to recovery, and seeing those bright eyed, bushy tailed puppies and kittens.
Unfortunately though, sometimes our patients’ happy days have ceased, and with heavy sorrow and heartache, we have to say our goodbyes, holding their paw as they cross over the rainbow bridge. Despite everything going on in the world, and what is slowly becoming the “new normal” our team has shown up through difficult times. Many of us have children and families to care for, and had to adjust to closures, illnesses, and quarantines. We have even faced driving in scary snow storms, when many surrounding businesses were closed to make sure the animals who needed care received it.
We look forward to continuing to support our schools and community, as well as continuing to hold fundraisers for our local shelters. At Big Creek, we do enjoy a good meal, but also wanted to show appreciation and gratitude towards our staff for their hard work and huge hearts!
Burnout and compassion fatigue continues to affect the veterinary field. Our work family has provided support, whether it’s someone to talk to, or sit in silence after a long day. Times may not be perfect, but there is always a Big Creek family member you can reach out to who is willing to lend a helping hand. We have a staff full of loving hearts to help plan little activities to help make each other smile, from hanging holiday decorations, to craft nights, plenty of office candy, monthly Family Meetings with lunch and team building activities, adult coloring books to use, holiday spirit shown with festive fashion, Feel Good Friday emails highlighting inspiring news and positive client comments, and even small morning meetings to check in with each other every single day. We are a TEAM and a FAMILY, and we support each other greatly!”
Honorable Mention
Dealers Auto Auction of the Southwest
Submitted by Cristin S. – Controller
“COVID brought an unexpected rise in business for the auto industry and although we aren’t traditionally thought of as essential workers, the fact we were able to stay open and work through this pandemic meant we were able to support hundreds of small businesses in our communities to provide vehicles for them to sell to help keep their doors open. The team came together, taking turns to support one another by pooling efforts to find child care and support one another in finding supplies. At one point, our spare office was filled with toilet paper, canned goods and other staples as both grocery stores were empty and other family members and sources of financial support were disappearing as other industries were affected and people began losing their jobs. Our staff pulled together to support one another, the community and our customers through difficult times.
We love ezcater because it makes the ordering process easier and is so reliable – no more last minute canceled orders through other delivery services. We try to feed the staff at least a couple of times a week – it gives them a chance to spend time together socially, it keeps them working, and hopefully it makes them feel appreciated. Food is a universal way of saying “I love you” and “thank you” – we can’t always afford to give huge raises or spend a lot of money on perks, but lunch is an affordable way to show our appreciation and adoration for our staff.”
Honorable Mention
Perkins&Will Houston
Submitted by Amanda P. – Studio Assistant
“Our team is the life force of the office – without us the lights aren’t on, the doors aren’t unlocked, the coffee machine doesn’t work, and there are no supplies stocked or phones answered, among many other things. When the pandemic hit and we all transitioned to working remotely, my team was the first to return to the office in August of 2020 – even before vaccines. We have worked regular hours in-person since, while the majority of our office still works remotely. We are thankful to be able to support our team, and thankful to be part of Perkins&Will. With that being said, it is no secret that operations staff, HR, and administrators are often the unsung heroes of the workforce. I am so proud of our team for being resilient and adaptive while learning to overcome the challenges faced during COVID, including but not limited to reduced wages, illness, loss of loved ones, and more.
Perkins&Will is an incredible place to be – being an administrator is just not an easy task, that is all! When COVID is not a factor we enjoy team lunches, holiday celebrations, and happy hours whenever we can. A birthday is never not announced, and flowers are sent to acknowledge sympathy, or a bottle of bubbly to celebrate a career milestone or a promotion. There is much heart here within the company.”
Honorable Mention
PricewaterhouseCoopers Chicago
Submitted by Ronald S. – Executive Assistant
“The PwC Chicago Partner Executive Assistant Team has adapted to our “new ways of working” by seamlessly continuing to provide superior professional administrative support while navigating the challenges of operating in a remote environment. We have managed to stay connected virtually to be sure we are consistently meeting the demands of our clients, while also continuing to support and look out for each other personally. Now that our office has re-opened and in-person meetings are back, we have learned to leverage the ezCater platform and local on-site support to coordinate meals and snack requests from our home offices. Many support needs are at our fingertips and do not require us to be on-site and we have learned to roll with the changes. We truly have a great administrative team at PwC in Chicago and the agility has really shined through in the challenging times we just experienced.”
Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 4 and nothing says thank you like food. We’re here to help you feed (and appreciate) your team, nationwide.