Can a waitress be a shepherd to her customers?

Monique receives a shepherd’s staff from Dick Kroese.

Monique receives a shepherd’s staff from Dick Kroese.

Patti R. Albaugh and Dick Kroese

The SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club recently honored Monique Morquez (“Mo”), waitress at MountainView Country Club, for her outstanding attention to the needs of her customers. We are not always an easy group to serve. She might hear “Iced-tea, please” while she is scurrying to hand 20 people their breakfasts, or while she is still serving she might be handed back a plate with a “but I didn’t order this.” Always with a smile, she handles all our requests with graciousness and expediency. She has also been an unexpected problem solver for us. Overhearing our conversations on how difficult it has been to drag supplies back and forth for meetings, Monique offered a storage solution for our “stuff.” Evidently she enjoys helping us; like all good shepherds, she looks forward to her duties. When she was left off the schedule one Thursday morning, she was broken hearted because she wasn’t able to start the day with her group. Yes, “Mo” is very dear to our club and we are fortunate she is such a good friend.

In a gesture of appreciation, Dick Kroese constructed one of his well-crafted hiking poles as a shepherd’s staff and presented it to Monique as a symbol of her taking care of her “flock.” “The staff is symbolic of the shepherd protecting and serving her flock and that is what you have been doing for us,” Dick stated before he handed her the staff.

So, yes, a waitress can be a shepherd to her customers and SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is fortunate to be under Monique Morquez’s watchful care.

SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is proud of all our members who make contributions of time and money to assist those within our community and over the world. Won’t you join us in making a difference? We meet every Thursday at 8:00 a.m. at the MountainView Country Club. Please contact Membership Chair Mark Douglas at [email protected].