by Dave Saunders, Catering Chef
It’s baseball season and our longtime General Manager Mo Shaw will imminently be departing. Both have been on our minds of late. Why do I conflate the two? Is Mo an aficionado of the summer pastime? I can’t say. But I do know that she’s a fan and a champion of her employees and perhaps there’s a lesson of the baseball diamond that relates to Mo’s swan song.
I played shortstop as a youth, softball as an adult. A major principle of the position, as of all the infield positions, is to charge a ground ball hit to you. Go get it. The reasons are twofold. One – get that ball as soon as you can to increase the odds of throwing the batter, or a runner, out. Two – get the ball on a good hop. If you wait it out, the ball may take an extra bounce and careen away. If it’s a three-bounder, collect it at two and a-half and make the play. Perhaps that ball is opportunity.
To many of us, Mo has been a coach, a teacher, a (cheer)leader, a coworker. She “covers a lot of ground” in the cafe when the rush is on (and even when it isn’t). I think she has an MBWA degree – that is, management by walking around. She knows the field, knows the turf, and knows what’s happening in all departments simultaneously. She’s plugged in.
Baseball lineups change, batting orders change, business employment rosters change. More infrequently, the leader who writes that roster changes. We’ve been fortunate to be led, instructed, advised, taught, reminded, cheered, and celebrated by Mo. It’s time to celebrate her, and to welcome our new GM Doug Zellers.
