Shirley Trice – Making Each Day Count at South Georgia Tech

September 19, 2018

Shirley Trice, Director of Food Services at South Georgia Tech. Photos by David Parks Photography and reprinted with permission from With You In Mind Publications.

Shirley Trice, Director of Food Services at South Georgia Technical College (SGTC), was featured in an eight-page spread in the Fall 2018 Sumter County Living Magazine. The article was written by June B. Anderson and David Parks Photography provided the photos. The article, beginning on page 94, can be found at: https://withyouinmindpublications.com/sumter-county/sumter-county-living-magazine-fall-2018/
As June Anderson states in the article, “This lady proves that entrance into the world can start out as unstable as Jell-O, but with hard work and determination, life can be a bowl of cherries!” Not only is South Georgia Technical College, Shirley Trice’s place of employment, but it is also her alma mater. She earned two degrees here, one in Information and Office Technology and one in Accounting. Little did she know at the time that the college would become more important to her in the future than she anticipated!
In her present position with Aramark, she takes on the daunting task of managing the entire food service department with the help of two lead people. “I don’t know what I would do without them and all the other great assistants that we have.” Every item on the menu is prepared using a recipe and the menus are on a four-week rotation so that diners don’t get tire of eating “the same old thing.”
She and her team serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from Monday through Friday and two meals, brunch and dinner, on Saturday and Sunday. She is off most weekends except for when there is a catering job on the books, but is at every function, if possible. There is a certain joy in her face as she related the fact that because of her position she has made lots of friends with students over the years, both at GSW and SGTC, some of which she still keeps in contact with.
The duties of her department are considerably rigorous as you might expect. Food and other supplies must be purchased from approved vendors, their major food supplier being Sysco in Atlanta. Strict guidelines must be met regarding such details as food temperature and storage. Shirley says one aspect of her job that consumes much of time is the fact that seemingly every move in her department is documented.
Trice loves what she does and believes that appreciation makes the hard work well worth it. “The work is hard and demanding, but when people approach you during or after an event with complimentary words, it is very rewarding. When people show appreciation for a job she has poured herself into, it makes the hard work well worth in and she looks forward to the next event.