The Job of a Lifetime

Pictured above (from left): Hugh Gittens, executive chef; Charles Jones, faithful food and nutrition services employee for 40 years and Lou Barth, director of food and nutrition services

At the monthly Nutrition & Food Service department meeting held in July, we honored our employees with their service awards. Time in service ranged from 1 year of service to 40 plus years right here at Harris Methodist Fort Worth. That’s right, 40 years here at Harris. What is most impressive is that they chose food service as a career and stuck with it for all of those 40 plus years.

One of the honorees was Charles Jones. Charles began here at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth back in 1969 in the Harris kitchen where he spent six years as a sanitation supervisor. He then moved to the patient services area, where he delivered patient meals as a runner for ten years after which, he returned to the kitchen for another 8 years. The opening of the Plaza café brought him an opportunity to try his hand at retail. The daily intimate contact with peers, staff and visitors grew on him and quickly became something he looked forward to. Charles serves more than 200 meals every day with a boisterous greeting and a friendly smile ever since.

Charles plans to be here “another 20 years the good Lord willing”; he went on to say “ thank God there is a Harris”.