Mercer Dining Services Helps
with Tornado Relief Efforts
Macon, Georgia —
Mercer Dining Services/ARAMARK Higher Education
donated 200 boxed lunches to victims, workers and
volunteers helping with tornado clean up efforts in
the Bibb County, Macon, Georgia area.
Severe thunderstorms plowed through portions of
North and Central Georgia during the early morning
hours of May 11, 2008 resulting in damaging wind,
large hail and 15 tornadoes statewide. Three deaths
are blamed on the storms and several people were
injured. The damage was so extensive in some areas
that Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of
emergency in six Georgia counties, and some schools
were closed for several days. Thousands of people
were without power for up to four days.
According to the National Weather Service, an EF2
tornado touched down near the small Bibb County
town of Lizella, where it damaged hundreds of
homes. One of those homes belonged to Mercer Dining
Services/ARAMARK Higher Education employee Lisa
Bonney, whose husband works for Mercer University.
When ARAMARK and Mercer University employees heard
about the damage, they offered to help.
“This was a devastating storm that affected many
lives in our community. When something like this
happens, it’s important that we pull together and
help out where we can”, stated Mercer Dining
Services/ARAMARK Higher Education Food Service
Director Ed Davis.
On Friday, May 16, Mercer agreed to let employees
leave work early if they volunteered to help with
yard and debris clean up at the home of one of the
ten Mercer employees who suffered damage from the
storms. Dozens of people volunteered and the crews
were divided among the damaged homes.
Mercer Dining Services/ARAMARK Higher Education
donated and delivered boxed lunches to the Mercer
volunteers. ARAMARK managers went a step further
and offered boxed lunches to victims and work crews
in other local areas also hit hard by the
tornadoes. The ARAMARK staff then donated boxed
lunches to the local Habitat for Humanity mobile
unit set up at Glen Hills Baptist Church in Macon.
Mercer Dining Services/ARAMARK Higher Education
Location Manager Marie Gilmour who helped with the
deliveries said, “Wow, I just couldn’t believe all
of the devastation. I am proud to work for a
company that cares about its employees and also the
community; and let’s us donate food to the victims
and workers.”
Mercer's annual staff council picnic was scheduled
for Friday, May 16; but the staff council voted to
cancel the picnic and donate that money to the
Salvation Army to help storm victims.
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