Roxie Greene, food-service superstar
50 years of service, and counting Roxie Greene has worked in food service at W&M since 1967, when she joined the university at age 26. Photo by Megan Shearin
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“I’ve never been a cashier,” Greene said, seemingly without a trace of regret.
Greene is among the 240 staff members who will be recognized today for service to the university, starting at the five-year mark and feted in five-year increments. She works on cold salad preparation for Maize, the vegan/vegetarian section of the Center Court dining hall at Sadler Center, accommodating about 600 diners per day.
Salad prep is something she has worked at for several of the companies that have won the university’s dining-service contract. She said she also serves breakfast four days a week.
Since coming to W&M as a 26-year-old in 1967, Greene has worked as a cook, a baker and has helped with catering.
But according to Michael Bush, operations manager of W&M Dining Services at Sadler Center, versatility is hardly her most outstanding quality.
“Because she has been around for such a long time our staff really looks to her for guidance and support – both in the workplace as well as outside of the job,” Bush said. “She cares for her co-workers and her peers equally and loves coming to work where she can help make a difference in students’ lives each and every day.”
Greene, who has seven children and 10 grandchildren, said she still enjoys working. But she admitted that she isn’t sure how much longer that will be the case.
Bush described Greene as “very talented” and “meticulous in what she does.” Everything she undertakes, he added, is done with “a caring heart that is reflected in the products she puts out.”
That sense of caring was a trait often mentioned during the commemoration of her 45th anniversary. Nothing about that, Bush said, has changed.
“Roxie is still as caring and compassionate … takes great pride in her work … [and] has a very refined system that allows her to be one step ahead and eager for more,” he said.
