Culinary Team Member Recognized for Excellent Service

In Palestine, Texas, culinary team member Victron Strawther received special recognition from a retired U.S. Army colonel who was a patient at his facility. Victron served the patient his meals each day during his stay, and the patient was thoroughly impressed with Victron’s professionalism and drive for excellent service. The patient sent the following letter to Victron’s manager to acknowledge a job well done:

"With people like Victron Strawther, your organization has a strong foundation."

The purpose of this letter is to acknowledge the superior service I received from a member of your staff while a patient in your hospital. While my stay was short, my ailment was severe, and at one point my recovery was in grave doubt.

Three times each day there was a polite knock on my door and a soft voice announced “food service.” When I said come in, I observed an extraordinarily neat, pleasant appearing young man, who inquired as to my health, set my tray down, adjusted the table, asked if there was anything else I needed, and promptly departed. All this was accomplished with a smile on his face and eye to eye contact. The performance never varied. The food was nourishing and of good quality.

I have often found in large organizations that those near the bottom of the organizational structure frequently feel unappreciated and without power. As I am sure you know, the opposite is true. It is the people at this level of the pyramid that make the structure solid. With people like Victron Strawther, your organization has a strong foundation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Victron for his service.