Washington
W&L Celebrates 2025 National Food Service Workers Day
Washington and Lee University will honor its talented and hard-working Dining Services staff on Thursday, Sept. 25, by celebrating National Food Service Workers Day, a national initiative born nearly a decade ago to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of the food service workers who create meaningful dining experiences every day.
“The staff at the Marketplace works very hard seven days a week to provide healthy and nutritious meals for the students,” said Mike O’Byrne, Marketplace executive chef. “We thought it would be nice to take a day to honor this contribution to the students and their college experience. We, and I especially, are truly grateful to have such a talented and professional staff, and this is just a small measure to say thank you for their dedication to the campus community.”
W&L will celebrate its accomplished Dining Services staff through a special lunch menu featuring dishes inspired by team members’ cherished family recipes. After inviting dining staff to share their favorite home recipes, the culinary team selected six dishes from the diverse submissions, choosing recipes that complemented each other while being suitable for large-scale preparation. The staff members whose recipes were chosen will be honored alongside their featured dishes, with photos and personal stories about each menu item displayed throughout the service lines. Lunch will be served from 10:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
“Last year was the first year that we did this, and some of the staff were a little nervous about having their dishes and pictures presented,” O’Byrne said. “With the warm reception from the students, faculty and staff, it really turned into a very positive experience for us. Many of the staff that participated submitted dishes again this year because of how much they enjoyed the event.”
Among the featured selections this fall is a vegan chorizo stuffed pepper dish submitted by lead cook Romero Dunn. A three-year staff veteran, Dunn said the idea for his featured dish came to mind while casually discussing the event with O’Byrne.
“I was thinking of how to make a vegan option for a longtime classic,” said Dunn. “Growing up, I always appreciated how my mother could make a satisfying meal with a few simple ingredients.”
Dunn has a family history with W&L’s Dining Services, noting that several relatives served on the culinary team dating back to when meal service was handled in Evans Dining Hall.
“My grandfather was the chef, and it feels good to follow in his footsteps,” reminisced Dunn, who expressed gratitude for the yearly event honoring the contributions of food service workers.
“National Food Service Workers Day recognizes the people and hard work that goes into preparing meals for a university,” he said. “Preparing meals for the university takes pride and teamwork, and the recognition of this event shows an appreciation for cooks such as myself, who have chosen this career.”
Another entrée selected was Brenna Patterson’s creamy Tuscan chicken recipe. Patterson, a three-year employee and member of the front of house team at the Marketplace, selected her dish because it is a favorite among her two children, who regularly help her prepare the dish in their home. Patterson shared her recipe for anyone who wishes to add it to their regular home meal rotation.
Not to be outdone, several side dishes will also be featured on the menu, including mashed parsnips and carrots, a favorite family recipe proposed by Eithne Power-Mulligan, a cook with Dining Services since 2023.
“I selected mashed parsnips and carrots because, while most people eat other one or the other, a lot of my friends had not had both combined,” she said. “The nutty, earthy flavor of the parsnip combined with the sweetness of the carrots is a great balance of rustic root vegetables and reminds me of my mam and growing up in Ireland. A lot of our food was farm to table and is very filling and nutritious.”
Power-Mulligan added that sharing the dish brings her joy, as does the thought of being recognized for her efforts in feeding the university community.
“I really like the fact that there is a National Food Service Workers Day,” she said. “Since coming to work at W&L, I have learned how much effort and time goes into the all the different facets and the preparation of the menu items offered. It’s so nice to be appreciated. I love everything about working here. The Marketplace team are a great group of people that offer and give encouragement, support, knowledge and the opportunity for me to grow as an individual.”
W&L’s Dining Services program employs nearly 250 staff members and 74 student workers across its eight campus venues. The team was recently cited among the nation’s best for employee development, receiving the Employee Development Program of the Year Award from the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS).
Last year, the Dining Services operation served just shy of one million meals (966,550) through its venues and catering services.
National Food Service Workers Day Lunch Menu
Creamy Tuscan Chicken – Brenna Patterson (food service worker)
Arroz Con Pollo Casserole – Brooklyn Hatcher (dining shift supervisor)
Vegan Chorizo Stuffed Pepper – Romero Dunn (lead cook)
Mashed Parsnips and Carrots – Eithne Powers-Mulligan (cook)
Squash and Onions – Chris Vess (food service worker)
Braised Cabbage with Sausage and Tomatoes – Tasha Johnson (cook)
Beirut, Lebanon – On Tuesday, representatives from Lebanon and Israel met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC – the first session of a two-day round of negotiations that Lebanese negotiators hope will end an invasion of their country.
The negotiations, which started at 9am local time (13:00 GMT), come as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon pushes deeper than at any point since the year 2000 and as Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade attacks. Israel has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
With the war raging on, what do Lebanon and Israel have to discuss and will the talks lead to an end of the Israeli assault?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What will Israel and Lebanon discuss?
Similar to past meetings, the two sides are ostensibly looking to come to some kind of deal following fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with strong doubts it will be achieved.
Lebanon’s government is still pushing for a total ceasefire. However, as talks started, Israel was striking various parts of southern Lebanon. Lebanon is also trying to get Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory in the south, so that more than 1.2 million displaced people can return home, and so the state can resume finding a way to disarm Hezbollah and rebuild areas devastated by Israeli attacks.
Israel is meanwhile looking to get assurances that Lebanon will disarm Hezbollah, a prospect analysts say Israel knows is complicated by the continuation of its military operations and occupation of swaths of southern Lebanon. Instead, Israel appears to be trying to fuel sectarian tensions inside Lebanon, leading to chaos and internal strife.
What has happened so far?
An initial meeting took place in April between Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the United States. A second round took place in May with a larger delegation on both sides.
On Friday, a meeting took place with Lebanese and Israeli military representatives, while Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, is not involved in the meetings.
Israel claimed the two sides found common ground in that they both wanted to see Hezbollah disarmed. Some Israeli officials suggested there may soon be trade agreements and an exchange of tourists between the two countries. Lebanon, however, said it preferred to find a deal closer to the 1949 armistice agreement between the two countries.
In the last meeting, Beirut reportedly outlined the damage done by Israeli attacks since the 2024 ceasefire agreement and presented detailed maps showing homes destroyed or razed by Israel.
Is there a chance for a ceasefire?
That remains to be seen, but for now, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s military would continue attacking Lebanon.
On Monday, Netanyahu announced that attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs would resume, despite a ceasefire. Apart from two targeted attacks, Israel has not struck the suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, since April.
Iran, which has attempted to include Lebanon in a wider ceasefire between themselves, on one side, and Israel and the US on the other, then intervened by threatening to attack northern Israel.
US President Donald Trump reportedly intervened to stop Israel’s attacks. He announced another ceasefire, after his previous announcement of one between Israel and Lebanon on April 16, after claiming he had gotten the approval of Netanyahu and spoken to Hezbollah.
“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back,” Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social.
But attacks from Israel and Hezbollah are continuing.
How do Lebanese people feel about the talks?
Not everyone is on the same page.
Some Lebanese support the talks and say they are the only option the state, which has little leverage, has. Among those who believe direct talks are the best way forward are Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
“There is no option other than negotiation,” Aoun said in a statement on Tuesday.
Others, however, oppose direct talks. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his allies, Hezbollah, have said indirect talks are preferred and that negotiations cannot be conducted while attacks are ongoing.
How are Iran and the US connected?
Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28, killing the country’s longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is Hezbollah’s primary benefactor, and two days after Khamenei’s assassination, Hezbollah fired six rockets towards Israel on 2 March.
Hezbollah’s response brought a huge response from Israel, who have crossed the Litani River – the supposed buzzer zone in southern Lebanon it had created – towards the Zahrani River.
Despite a 2024 ceasefire, Israel had never stopped attacking Lebanon, while Hezbollah had only responded once in December 2024.
Iran has attempted to include Lebanon in the ceasefire deal it has with the United States and Israel, who say this theatre is not part of the agreement.
Although Trump has now announced a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel twice, the invasion of southern Lebanon continues.
Are there other actors involved?
Gulf states have also intervened. Saudi Arabia has been working behind the scenes to get Lebanon’s leadership – Aoun, Salam and Berri – on the same page. Meanwhile, analysts say Saudi Arabia and Qatar engaged the Trump administration to stop an escalation in Lebanon.
The Washington Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
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02-07-35-44-57, Powerball: 25
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A contract worker was killed by a falling tree on Monday afternoon in Washington County, officials said.
The Washington County Office of the Coroner said in a news release that the contractor was killed after the tree fell on them around 4 p.m. The worker, who was not immediately identified, was hired to cut down a tree at a residence on Lynn Portal Road in Canton Township, and it fell in an unintended direction, killing the person, the coroner said.
No other information was immediately released on Monday evening. The Greene-Washington Regional Police Department and the coroner are investigating.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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