Before the sun even cracked over the horizon Tuesday morning, members of four Greek-letter organizations assembled at the Tempe campus to put on an appreciatory breakfast for ASU's facilities management staff.
About 40 students from Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Delta Chi, Alpha Pi Omega and Omega Phi Alpha banded together to facilitate the event. They served food on the Student Services Building's third-floor balcony and talked with employees at the first honorary breakfast devoted only to facilities management staff.
“Since the beginning of the semester, we've been aware that this is something we wanted to do,” said Julia Menka, president of Alpha Pi Omega. “It's not such a glamorous job, and this is our way of saying thank you.”
Jimmy Haynie, president of Alpha Phi Alpha, arrived before 6 a.m. to set up the breakfast and said some students came even earlier.
The Greek organizations decided an early-morning breakfast would reach the most facilities staffers, he said.
“Typically, there are different shifts in the morning and evening,” Haynie said. “We thought it would be a bigger turnout in the morning.”
Haynie said about 200 people work the morning shift, and judging from the turnout, a good portion of them showed up.
“We're just trying to make an impact on the campus,” he said.
Making it to the early-morning breakfast, held while most students were asleep, was no problem for many of the staff, who said they would normally be working anyway.
Carter Lee, a utility piping specialist with ASU's plumbing department, has worked for the University for 20 years and said he really appreciated the event's message.
“I think it's pretty damn good,” he said over orange juice and a bagel. “At least somebody thinks of us.”
Alberta Carrasco, a custodian, usually begins work at 4 a.m. but came to the breakfast after a supervisor told her to take a break and attend the event.
“For us, we feel good because somebody is thinking of us,” she said. “Somebody recognized our work and it feels great.”
Stacey Flores, an academic success specialist and adviser to the Greek organizations, said the event's goal was to honor the workers, but it also brought the Greek community together.
The participating fraternities and sororities represented four of ASU's five Greek councils.
“We need to bridge the gap between the Greek organizations,” Flores said. “We wanted to do something to give back to the people who serve us every day as well as bring the Greek-letter community closer together. It's nice to see so many people here.”
Flores said she worked with the four Greek organizations to get food from Einstein Bros. Bagels and Dunkin Donuts. She then sent out e-mails to the supervisors at ASU to alert facilities staff to the event.
As the sun rose and lit up the Tempe campus, the line for food never diminished as more staff arrived throughout the morning.
“It was a nice idea and good food,” said Mitchell Andrews, an air conditioning service worker. “It's just a little extra benefit for the work we do.”
Reach the reporter at channing.turner@asu.edu.
