Nuts and Bolts, Sugar and Salt and everything in-between

Maintenance/Food Service

 By: Megan Linnell

  • Maintain interior/exterior of all buildings
  • Remodel buildings/rooms
  • Maintain agency grounds
  • Maintain agency vehicles and equipment
  • Transport clients to and from Epworth Village Learning Center (EVLC) when needed
  • Plan menus for all meals provided by Epworth Village
  • Obtain a headcount for each meal served
  • Make sure special dietary needs of clients/staff are followed
  • Assure that Epworth Village is in compliance with the State of Nebraska Pure Food Act
  • Perform daily cleaning duties for classrooms/public areas of EVLC, Central, Mills and Spurlock
  • Launder, alter and repair clothing/property for clients and agency when needed
  • Price and maintain inventory of all donated clothing and supplies and distribute where needed
  • Assist food service staff with meal service

These are just a few of the job duties of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of our agency.  The Maintenance Department and Food Service Department of Epworth Village truly hold, or shall I say ‘mold’ us together.  They not only do this through putty and paste but through their caring hands and hearts. 

“We roll with what ever is going on; there is no such thing as a ‘normal’ work day for us.” –Dennis Dooley

When asked the question, “What makes you want to get up and come to work each day?” Maintenance Director/Project Manager, Dennis Dooley simply answered, “There is something different and challenging every day; and being surrounded by great people helps!”

Greg Saltzman, part of the maintenance crew, on the go running mail and transporting clients to and from Epworth Village Learning Center (EVLC).

Transportation is an intricate part of the services at Epworth Village.  Our maintenance crew work diligently to transport clients to and from EVLC for appointments and meals.

 

Joel supervising Jason Ewing. Jason is part of the diverse maintenance crew.

“Did you know that Epworth owns 13 buildings that we maintain, several of these 80 years old or maybe a few years older?  Did you know that in these 13 building we have 60 bathrooms’ (I won’t mention what can all go wrong with one bathroom let alone 60 of them).   Did you know that Epworth owns 24 vehicles, including cars, cottage passenger vans, minivans, and maintenance vehicles?  Did you know that we have over 250 doors with locks on them?  Did you know that there are 35 heating/ air conditioning units?  These are just a few of thing we maintain on a daily basis.  I can’t even begin to count all the bulbs and ballasts that we replace in a years time.  Our own maintenance staff does pretty much all the maintenance and repair work on almost everything.  Very seldom do we bring in contractors to do any repair work.  We have 7 fulltime, and 1 temporary maintenance personal.  We also have 2 people that do cleaning at Spurlock, Central, In Home Services, and at the school.” Joel Weisheit, Assistant Director of Maintenance puts it well.

Doing an outstanding job with the janitorial maintenance are Wilfred Pohl and Dashon Jones. They perform daily cleaning of public areas and classrooms in EVLC as well as other public areas when required; Mills, In Home Services, Central & Spurlock. They sure can ‘clean up’ well! 

One of maintenance's job duties is painting. Don Rush seems to have that down pat. He even carries a brush in his back pocket. Not afraid to get dirty, Darwin Weisheit prepares tow ork in Steven's crawl space.

 

Calvin Friesen, Joel Weisheit, Jason Ewing and Kelvin Heine carefully unload boxes from the Lincoln Food Bank into the kitchen.  This is just one of the many different tasks that arise from day to day.  From painting, to snow removal, to vehicle maintenance, to transporting clients, to maintaining agency buildings, and the list goes on; this maintenance crew is always willing and ready for whatever each day brings!
     

 

“Each day is a new adventure!  We prepare and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner each week day for 40 to 120 clients and staff!  We also receive and put away grocery deliveries from, sometimes, 2 to 3 trucks a day. In between all of that there is cleaning, dishes, packaging weekend meals, making menus, ordering food, meal counts, etc.
We also like to create special meals and decorate for the kids on holidays!”  -Paula Brandenburgh, Food Services Supervisor

 

Debbie Makovicka, is the laundry and inventory specialist!  Whether she is doing laundry, folding laundry, taking inventory on donated items, helping out in the kitchen, measuring quilts, or just about everything else in-between, she always has a smile on her face.

 

Sharon Johnson and Jeanette Wittgren work hard in the kitchen to prepare wonderful meals, clean up after every meal, all the while following special dietary needs of clients and staff. 

 



Something that is consistent in their jobs is taking a well needed break.  Every day at 10 and 3 they stop to refresh and recharge in the dinning room of Mills.

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication! You truly are the nuts and bolts, sugar and salt and EVERYTHING in-between!