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Dear Editor:
Let me tell you about Kevin ‘Woody’ Rider … We all know what a positive impact he has had on our city as an at large City Councilor but let me tell you about the profound impact he has had on my family.
At just 15 years old, my son Chris had his first ever job interview with Mr. Rider. This led to six YEARS of employment for my son, through high school, college and a pandemic shutdown. He learned vital culinary and front- and back-of-the-house skills that ultimately led him to his passion and career advancement to a Sous Chef for a local catering company.
Chris didn’t always “appreciate” Mr. Rider, and he thought Mr. Rider was “tougher” on him than he was his other employees. Mr. Rider would always “bug him” by talking to him and asking about his grades, his future plans, and if he was helping his younger brother and his mom. Kevin would always work around Chris’s school schedule and happily let him cut back on hours if he was facing a tough semester. Kevin came to Chris’s high school graduation and shook his hand, gave him a generous gift, and told him he was proud of him.
When you make your businesses into a family, people tend to stay. (Six years at one place is good for an adult, let alone a teenager.) I will be forever grateful and thankful for this man. He was the primary male role model and mentor to my son during his teenage years. Kevin and Woody’s filled in the gaps for me and provided stability and consistency for my son after the many changes that divorce, moving, and changing schools caused.
I’m not alone in my experience. I know so many others whose children Kevin has employed and taught them work ethic, timeliness, responsibility and pride in a job well done, all the while caring about them as a whole person – and fostering their character.
Denise Moe
Carmel