WES's Causey “School Related Employee of the Year”

The real gauge of Marilyn Causey’s value to the operation of Wewahitchka Elementary School was clear the moment she stepped away from her lunchroom cash register to accept a bouquet of flowers and congratulations for being named Gulf District Schools 2011 School Related Employee of the Year.

Nobody in the lunchroom had a clue. The gears froze, food was still coming out but the kids-to-tables part was non-functioning.

Causey’s rise caused all sorts of havoc as kids stood transfixed, trays in hands, wondering what all the adults were doing in the cafeteria and school staff members futilely attempted to make heads or tails of the cash register.

The lunch line experienced a traffic jam.

So, of course, Causey could only soak in the kudos for a short time before she had to apply the oil to the machine and get the kids to their tables and eating as quickly as, clearly, only Causey can.

“She knew every kid’s name, she knew right off what they were eating,” said Superintendent of Schools Tim Wilder. “When she stepped away from her computer no one knew what to do.

“If that is not a testament to the job she does I don’t know what is.”

Causey, who has been in that lunchroom tending to her children and making sure they are being take care, breaking the mold on what constitutes a “lunch lady” as Principal Lori Price put two weeks ago, seemed to scarcely have the time for the plaudits, though she did acknowledge their were nice to hear.

As several School Board members, county staff, family, Price and other members of the WES staff snaked through the line behind Causey, she was busily punching on her computer, ticking off “Jayden” and “Thomas”, and doing her business.

As School Board member George Cox rounded the corner from the kitchen with the flowers, Causey blushed and proclaimed, “I’ve got work to do.”

After stepping away, to the chagrin of those from WES, Causey accepted the hugs from family, Wilder, Cox and Price, all the while eyeing her station and the chaos quickly unfolding in her absence.

“I had kind of a clue something was going on because everybody was looking behind me,” Causey said. “This feels real great. I love this school. It is all good.”

So, too, for the students, staff of WES, when it comes to Causey.

As Price noted Causey is part mom, part counselor and part lunch lady in the cafeteria.

She knows, Price said, what kids need a hug and what kids might have a food allergy. She knows which child might need that extra muffin on Monday because there may not have been enough to eat at their homes over the weekend.

“She must come to the office 50 times a day making sure a child has the right change or anything,” said WES secretary Mary Ann Peak. “She takes such good care of those kids.”

Causey decorates the lunchroom for holidays and leads the “Happy Birthday” song on a student’s special day. She is so much more than the lady punching in keys on her computer, Price said.

“She greets every child with a smile and a friendly word,” Price wrote in a recommendation letter. “She does seem a bit confused about her job description. While required simply to key in lunch codes as students pass through the line, she does so much more.”

For Causey, her job description has been crafted by her mind and heart over more than two decades of ensuring healthy, warm meals to the students at Wewahitchka Elementary.

She’s done if for a spell now. She loves it. Yet, the accolade of School Related Employee of the Year is a nice acknowledgement.

“You really feel appreciated,” Causey said above the racket her disappearance from the register was causing. “I’m here just doing my job. I’ve been doing it for 27 years so feel appreciated is great. It’s just great.”

And, with that, her cash register, and unsnarling the traffic accident in front of it, beckoned.