PEOPLE
KARA BLANTON RECENTLY TOOK ON HER LATE FATHER’S ROLE OF SENIOR CONCESSIONS MANAGER AT MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY DINING. HERE’S A LOOK AT HOW SHE CONTINUES HER FATHER'S LEGACY. HOW KARA BLANTON CREATES A WORK CULTURE THAT FEELS LIKE FAMILY AT MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY DINING
K ara Blanton wanted to feel like she was with family in her work- place. And she found exactly that experience through her roles at Murray State Universi- ty Dining. Namely through the time she was able to work with her father, time that she holds close to her heart, after his passing. She learned a lot from him, she says, and she eventually took those BY REYNA ESTRADA
lessons and followed in his footsteps as concession senior supervisor. Family is Blanton’s passion, outside of work, she spends most of her time with family. In particular, she was very close to her father, previous concession senior supervisor David Garrard, who passed away about a year ago. “He wasn't just my dad; he was my best friend. He was somebody that I could talk to about anything. Some- times things that a daughter normally
wouldn't talk to their father about prob- ably,” said Blanton as she laughed at the memory. “But yeah, he was great at everything. He was a great husband, a great father, a great friend.” Blanton began her career with Mur- ray State University Dining about two years ago in the dining services admin office as the unit clerical. Prior to join- ing the dining team at the university, Blanton worked as an office manager for a senior caregiving company. Blan-
Murray State University Dining team featuring previous concession senior supervisor David Gerard.
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 32
FSD QUARTERLY
Q2 2024
30
PHOTO COURTESY OF MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY DINING
Powered by FlippingBook