Mr. Charles
- February 21, 2012 - 7:47 am
- Celebrating Employees
- 0 Comment
There have been many unexpected rewards to opening Z's, we get to share in people's celebrations and we have been the recipient of the kindnesses of many. But perhaps the most inspiring has been to watch the changes in the lives of Samaritan House residents who come to join our program and work at the Cafe. Not only does Z’s have a moving story of how it came to be, but each employee who makes up our company has their own story to tell. Today we want to share the story of one of those workers, Charles Walker.
Charles was born in Corsicana, Texas. He is one of six children (one deceased.) He also has three sons – the youngest is 37. His journey in Fort Worth began in 1956.
Charles Walker, father, friend, part of the Z's family
Charles was one of the first employees of Z’s Cafe when it opened three years ago. When asked how his career at Z’s began, Charles said, “I found out about it from Rick Eisimeeger. He works at the Samaritan House. I was my brother’s caretaker and had retired from doing plumbing work and I was taking care of my brother until he passed away. Rick asked one day if I would be interested in working in a cafe that was going to open up and I said put my name on the list and when the job opportunity came up, I started and have been here ever since.”
Prior to working at Z’s, Charles was in the military during the Vietnam War and later became a plumber until 1997. “I used to do plumbing and I’m used to seeing people all the time. I was in the military and got to see people all over the country. To me personally, its an everyday thing. We’re serving the public a specific deal so we have to go along with their program,” Charles said.
When asked his best memory so far at Z’s, Charles had a great story to share.
“My best memories...one that I am going to never forget I’ll put it like this....when we first started out we had a catering event, it was me Martin and Carlo. Carlo washed dishes quite a lot that particular night, it was quite busy. He’s not afraid to wash dishes. After that I think I washed dishes for 8 hours one night. It was fun and the time went by really fast. There was no problem with that, it was kind of fun to see your boss be a part of the program, not a lot of people get to see that.”
Many friendships have been made among the Z’s staff. Charles shared how he has seen every new employee begin at Z’s. He said, “ I am constantly meeting new friends. It happens in all walks of life, wherever you go you meet new people. Its one of life’s experiences.” Charles lit up when talking about his fellow employees and spoke about them in a playful way, “they remind me of my kids, most of them are around the same age. So I treat them as kids.”
Charles is a very special man and one that any person would be lucky to have a conversation with. Charles, or “Chuck” as his grandkids and close friends like to call him, is a man who loves his family and job. He enjoys relaxing and watching television when he is at home. Charles will not hesitate when asked what his favorite Z’s meal is, “The salad trio, that takes care of everything (pasta, chicken and fruit salad) you can taste. The stuffed pork chops and rice but we don’t serve that everyday.”
Along with sharing his brilliant leadership and serving talents at Z’s, we would like to thank Charles Walker for graciously sharing his story with us.
