Mr. Alfred and his awards.
Mr. Alfred with some more of his awards. I did not take
these pictures I Googled Mr. Alfred and found him online!
This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I was in Pineville, LA at a teaching conference. The conference was on whole brain teaching, but that is not what I want to talk about. We stayed Monday and Tuesday night at the Country Inn Suites in Pineville. I roomed with 2 of my fellow 5th grade teachers. It was a great room with 2 full size beds and a sofa bed. There was a separate sitting area with a TV, frig, and microwave. The motel also serves a wonderful breakfast that includes home made waffles, eggs, bacon, pastries, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, and yogurt. There were several kinds of juices, milk, and coffee.
The first morning we walked in there, one of my co workers decided she wanted a waffle. The batter was right there next to the waffle iron. As she started to get some batter, a voice and a person appeared by her side saying, "You want a waffle, I'll fix you a waffle". He took the cup of batter out of her hand and also asked if my other co worker and I wanted a waffle. We could not refuse. He told us to sit down and he would bring the waffles to us. He did bring the waffles to us, and then came back several times to get our empty plates. As we ate, we watched him and heard him treat each and every guest with the same extreme, good natured kindness.
The next morning he greeted us, and once again we took him up on his offer of a waffle. He brought us waffles with a flower imprinted on it, and said he picked that for us. He was very attentive to us and everyone in there. He asked if it was our last day, and said to be sure and come back and see him when we came again. As we sat there finishing up we began to notice the awards and notations on the wall were all for "Mr. Alfred". The city of Pineville, Country Inn and Suites, softball and baseball teams, LSU basketball team, police department, and military groups all had thanked him. We realized that we had been served by a celebrity! When we gave him his tip, we mentioned all of his certificates on the wall. He said he wanted to show us something else. He reached into the cabinet above the waffle maker, and brought out a magazine. He was on the cover, and had been chosen as National Employee of the Year by Country Inn and Suites. There was also a wonderful article inside.
I love meeting people who do their job well no matter what it is. It is a understatement to say Mr. Alfred did his job well. There was an aura about him. I think he might have been an angel disguised as a breakfast room attendant. I hope I see him again.
