To foster stronger teamwork among the Culinary Teams across the Forefront Living culinary program, these groups convened in Presbyterian Village North’s (PVN) McGowan Auditorium for a Culinary Team Town Hall on March 28.
The event began with each team member enjoying lunch provided by a local food truck. “It was important to me that those who serve our residents and patients didn’t have to worry about providing or cleaning up the meal they enjoyed during our team-building event. It’s a small gesture to spoil our team a little, considering they do such a great job of spoiling everyone else,” explained Savannah Rogers, Director of Culinary Services.
Following lunch, the approximately 60 team members were divided into six groups, briefed on the objectives of the event, and shown the prizes. “We have such a fun and competitive group, so I wanted to create an opportunity for the team to unwind and be themselves while breaking away from the daily grind. We witnessed everyone’s playful side emerge during some of the events,” Rogers remarked.
Each team engaged in four activities, including a donut-eating contest, “slap that coin” with sticky hands, blindfolded food service relay, a dance-off and a poignant moment – a peanut butter and jelly sandwich-making contest resulting in more than 150 sandwiches crafted and packaged for distribution to the homeless through Our Calling.
At the event’s close, the victorious team received gold trophies, and all participants were gifted commemorative PVN Culinary Team t-shirts.
“Alex Givens, Associate Director of Dining Services, and I are passionate about organizing culinary team-building events like this. Our aim is to make every individual in our department feel connected to something greater than themselves. We are here to serve our residents, but if one person doesn’t grasp their significance in the culinary department’s mission, it weakens the team. By creating a sense of appreciation and belonging within the team, rather than merely viewing them as names on a schedule, I believe we can positively impact more lives. Everyone should wake up excited to come to work—that’s the culture we strive for here at PVN,” concluded Rogers.
