HOPE, Ark. - Sandra Calhoun, kitchen manager at Clinton Primary School, is one of 200 food services professionals worldwide named to the named to the Aramark "Ring of Stars" by company CEO Eric J. Floss.
She was notified last month in a letter from Floss and will be recognized during a ceremony in October.
"It is a pleasure to honor outstanding talent within our company and joining the Ring of Stars makes you one of only 200 exceptional Aramark employees among out 270,000 colleagues worldwide who have earned this distinction in 2019," Floss wrote. "It's a tribute to your outstanding performance, dedication and passion to be a true Aramark service star."
The award is derived from the "Star person" logo of the company, headquartered internationally in Philadelphia, Pa.
"There have been only three in the history of all accounts in Arkansas; and Sandra is the third," said Hope Public School's Aramark Food Services Director Cortney Nutt, who nominated Calhoun for the award.
A native of Nashville, Ark., Calhoun Nashville High School graduate who began working in food preparation in the HPS child nutrition department in 2016. She then worked her way into managing the largest kitchen in the Hope district. The CPS campus serves some 850-900 students per day in grades pre K-4.
"I started part time and just stayed with it," she said. "I love kids."
The mother of one adult daughter who now resides in Oklahoma, Calhoun has been married 16 years and enjoys fishing, gardening and watching football.
She said she is dedicated to her student customers.
"I want to make sure all of them are fed; and my goal is every day to put a smile on their face," Calhoun said. "I can't stand to see a child frown."
Calhoun will be honored in October during a four-day Aramark-sponsored, all-expense paid gathering at the Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Aramark, a worldwide customer services business including food, facilities and uniforms services, was founded in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1936 by Davre Davidson and his brother as Davidson Brothers Vending Co. The company provides food services to all five campuses of the Hope Public Schools under contract with the school district.