Mitchell Hall workers serve with pride
Behind the scenes at the Air Force Academy, a team of dedicated workers makes sure mealtime runs like clockwork at Mitchell Hall.
They come from all walks of life and work together like a family.
“We really do work together as a family because we have to really coordinate like a family does,” said server Max Rodriguez.
Planning, organizing and executing three meals a day for 4,000 cadets is no easy feat. It starts in the food warehouse, where workers like Victor Martinez make sure the pallets of food are organized. A palette of tomatoes, for instance, will be consumed in just three days, according to Martinez- who has worked at the academy since 1981.
“We look out for these cadets,” Martinez told KRDO NewsChannel 13. “We’re the ones who feed these cadets, so we have to make sure they get fed every day. So for me, it’s a privilege to do that. I take pride in what I do, my job.” (Click here to watch our video story with Martinez.)
On the dining room floor, servers make sure service is efficient.
“It’s very extreme. You take 4,000 cadets at lunchtime. We serve 4,000 in 10 minutes,” Rodriguez said.
But the servers still take time to connect with the cadets.
Imelda Flowers has worked at the academy for nearly 20 years. Many of the cadets call her “Mom.”
“They’re all my kids,” Flowers said. “They really are good kids.”
Cadet 2nd Class Andrew White said seeing her always brightens his day. He recounted a time when a Filipino dish was served at Mitchell Hall.
“We’re both Filipino and we were joking, ‘Oh, this isn’t real adobo,’ and she said, ‘OK, I’ll make adobo for you.’ And she made real homemade adobo for me one day,” White said.
“She’ll see us across Mitchell Hall. Big old wave, huge smile, give us all hugs,” said Cadet 1st Class Skyler Awisus. “She is the best part of Mitchell Hall.”
Every graduation season, Flowers gets teary-eyed.
“Every year at this time I see her crying because her cadets are leaving,” said Ed Fitzhenry, director of Cadet Food Services.
Even in inclement weather, there are no delays or closures for the food service workers.
“We have to be here,” Fitzhenry said. “If we’re not here, the cadets don’t get fed. We are their only option for the four years that they’re here.”
The workers at Mitchell Hall were featured as KRDO NewsChannel 13’s Wear Red Friday Heroes. To nominate a hero in the southern Colorado military community, click here.
