February was a short month with lots of activity for the Operations department at SECU Family House. As I stepped into my new position as the Director of Operations, I was ushered into our first ice storm of 2022 and its impact on Family House and its guests in January. The staff worked diligently to ensure that all guests were as comfortable as possible. Guests experienced a slow loss of power as our backup system tried to keep up with the electrical needs of our facility. With Family House experiencing the impact of the storm, we needed to move guests to nearby hotels. I decided to discuss with staff changes that could be implemented to help us weather the next storm. To test our due diligence, we experienced snow the first two weekends in February. I am proud to say that the weather events came and went with little to no disturbance to the guests and staff at Family House. Our Buildings Facilities team led by John P. was on top of all issues that required preparation both inside and outside of our building, our Manager of Volunteers, Georgie C. made sure that any additional meals would be handy that guests could prepare in the absence of Meal prep teams coming in, our House Manager, Claudette W. made sure that batteries were purchased and lanterns were pulled from storage for use, and lastly, Sandra, our Housekeeping Supervisor made sure that all personal need items were stocked in rooms just in case staff were unable to get in at the regular time due to inclement weather. I am proud to work with such a competent and professional team that did not hesitate to step up and go the extra mile, I was told that is the “Family House” way!  Also, during February, we completed a new pantry adjacent to the kitchen in our Main building. The new pantry carpentry was completed by our in-house Facilities Building crew. The food was moved in, and we were blessed to have volunteers come in from Tidy Trails, a local company, to organize the pantry and kitchens at Family House. Everything came out beautifully, so much so that we started our Spring cleaning early and moved all our copy room materials and stationery supplies into a larger centrally located copier room. revamping the Children’s room, and cleaning out a storage area under the stairs near the front desk, complete with waxing the floor.  To accommodate the maintenance needs of Family House we have added a PT maintenance position and look to welcome the new hire in March.

Monique McKithen
Director of House Operations