Donated ice cream machine provides tasty treats for all
When planning a team member appreciation event to be held in July, there is one easy thing to do to ensure success—serve ice cream. With this in mind, Kingsway Retirement Living (Belle Plaine, MN) maintenance team member, Tom Meger, began to explore options to be able to host an ice cream sundae bar.
“I thought about renting a soft-serve machine, but they are pretty hard to find. I went to Cenex in Belle Plaine because they have rental popcorn machines,” Tom explained. Unfortunately, the answer was no.
Continuing to visit with Cenex team members, Tom became aware that the company did have an ice cream machine that they might be interested in selling.
“I was talking with the store manager and learned Cenex management had decided to donate the machine to Kingsway,” he said, “It was a very generous donation to Kingsway.”
In addition to the appreciation event, the ice cream maker has been used during the BBQ Days Parade and the Kingsway resident picnic. The machine, which is a Taylor ice cream maker, can make vanilla, chocolate and swirled softserve ice cream. Tom, who has adopted the nickname “Ice Cream Manager,” has become skilled in the operation, maintenance and cleaning of the machine
“They had sent all the owner’s manuals with it, but I went on YouTube to look it up. It’s quite a process to put it together and to clean it. After you have done it a few times, it becomes pretty simple,” Tom said.
The ice cream treats, and the ice cream machine itself, have been well received by both Kingsway residents and team members. Everyone appreciates and is thankful for the work that Tom put into acquiring the machine and to Cenex for supporting Kingsway.