When I walked into the Market District store and looked around the produce department, it did not take me long to realize who I was there to meet. He was clearly demonstrating the traits of the perfect employee, tending to the various fruits and vegetables as if it were his own personal garden. In between arranging trays of fresh cuts and stacking canisters of peaches and pears, Matthew Keck made sure to also greet customers with a smile. Oh that million-dollar, super-contagious, whistle-while-you-work smile!
As part of Disability Awareness Month, OneZone sponsored a luncheon highlighting the connection between employers hiring members of our community who have special needs. During that luncheon we learned about the tremendous number of employee success stories, as well as the need to encourage even more employee-employer unions. I reached out to Brennan Greer, Janus community employment manager, and he was eager to help me highlight model employee Matthew Keck.
“My mom and dad leave every morning for work,” Keck said, when I asked him why this job was important to him. “Now I get to do the same thing – and I make my own money.”
“He is a great asset to our team,” said Derek Dix, Market District produce manager and Keck’s boss. “He has a friendly and helpful attitude, always answering customer’s questions or finding someone who can. We cannot ask any more of him. He does a fantastic job for our customers.”
Through the Janus program, Keck has a job coach who helped him get comfortable with the job. In the beginning she was with him for entire shifts. Now his job coach, Peggy, stops in as needed, and is very complimentary of Keck, saying he is “an extremely determined young man who consistently shows me that he wants to always do the best work possible. I have never seen him discouraged or frustrated with any aspect of this job. He is upbeat and happy every single day. He greets all of his coworkers as well as the customers with a huge smile, and always does his best to do whatever he can to assist them.”
Keck and I spent some time together as he graciously and patiently showed me how to place the merchandise in just the right location, rotate the stock based on the very important date stamp, and then break down the cardboard boxes for disposal. His favorite food to work with is vegetables but he does not discriminate against the fruits.
The northeast corner of Carmel’s westside Market District is where some go to find fresh, neatly stocked and carefully arranged sweet strawberries, ripe melons and crispy celery. For me, it’s where I go when I want to enjoy a big slice of teamwork. There are companies finding a way to provide more than just a product or service – giving employees like Keck an opportunity to contribute their talents to our community. This makes for a sweet and healthy dose of what’s good for us.
