“A good time was had by all”. That about says it all, doesn’t it? It’s a phrase commonly used in small town newspapers when they are describing the results of last week’s bridge tournament at your Aunt Mabel’s house over in Smalltown, USA.
It is also the perfect phrase to describe our annual employee holiday luncheon here at the City of Eden Prairie. It was yesterday. It’s a long tradition here. We hold the event during December in the Garden Room in City Center. We eat in shifts so that we can continue to be open for business during the luncheon. That’s a great shot of the dessert table mid-event yesterday. Employees bring in all the desserts. They are fantastic. You could have a filling meal of just desserts, if you cared to.
That’s City Engineer Al Gray next to Mayor Tyra-Lukens. Al is the Chief Turkey Engineer for the luncheon. He cooks them every year. He’s an expert in such things. The Mayor makes a mean tiaramasu for the dessert table. It’s delicious. There’s just not enough of it for me + the 280 other people that are there to eat too.
That’s me (in the Irish Santa hat) next to Chief of Police Dan Carlson. I was feigning the “bad cop” look to Dan’s “good cop” in this photo. Dan is retiring in January, so this is his final holiday luncheon as our Chief of Police. We invite retirees to this event. I think there’s a good chance we’ll see him next year for a lunch. I hope we will anyway.
The final photo is just a group shot of the room from yesterday. It is such a nice event. Employees really look forward to it each year. It gives everyone a chance to sit and talk together in a pleasant atmosphere. It helps us reconnect after a busy year, at the busiest time of the year. Department Directors, Division Managers and I serve the meal on a buffet line. In addition to doing the luncheon over the lunch hour, which is good for most of our City employees, a few of us always come back in the evening to serve up the same meal to our employees (police, water plant workers, dispatchers, etc.) who work in the evening. They appreciate that. The opportunity for leadership to serve those we work with is important. It gives us the opportunity to thank employees for a good year and to extend our personal holiday greetings to them as well.
“A good time was had by all.” I can’t improve on that description. Happy Holidays.
