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ORU Sodexo team named Spirit of Sodexo Region Award winners

ORU Sodexo ESL classSodexo Inc. names The Oral Roberts University EVS/Support team as the Spirit of Sodexo Region Award winners for team spirit under the Campus Ball Region category.

According to George Chavel, CEO of Sodexo Inc., the Spirit of Sodexo is the company's annual corporate awards program honoring individuals and teams within the company who demonstrate outstanding performance in support of Sodexo's mission and values as well as the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

More than 1,400 employees were nominated for the Spirit of Sodexo Award - the highest honor in the company. The Region Award is the first level of competition in the Spirit of Sodexo Award program. Region winners now move on to the next level of judging for the national awards.

The ORU team, consisting of Tracy Jackson, Wendi Green and Faye Warman, started an English as a Second Language program in partnership with Catholic Charities Diocese of Tulsa to help Burmese employees at ORU and the Tulsa area. The team offers three sessions (eight weeks each) of Burmese ESL beginner class in GC 4112 and GC 4A37 for the advanced class at ORU's Learning Resources Center. Day care is provided for participants who need it.

In learning English, participants learn about basic things such as conversation, time, weather, background, and general information about their surroundings. ORU alumna Sarah Thomas, Kathleen Byrd and Chris Byrd are the class teachers, and the class size is about 45 people. Information about the class spread through Burmese employees to the community through their churches, and later sign-up forms were circulated.

"We strive to follow Sodexo's principles of 'Making Every Day a Better Day' and find that one way we can do that is by reaching out to a community in need," Warman said in her presentation. "It is our hope that these classes continue, and the Burmese community will have more opportunities within their company and their community."

George Perkins, ORU director of Buildings & Grounds, Sodexo, nominated the ORU EVS/Support team.

"I nominated the team not only for the quality of life, but for their efforts in the city," he said. "ORU is providing space for these classes. Tracy, Wendi and Faye were the brain trust of this effort. Last year, we had an overwhelming response. About 78 percent of Burmese took classes."

With the success of the ESL program, the ORU team is in negotiations to obtain another host site for classes.

About Oral Roberts University

Oral Roberts University is an interdenominational Christian liberal arts university located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963 by evangelist Oral Roberts, ORU serves students from 49 states and 53 countries, representing over 40 denominations. Offering 64 undergraduate majors, 14 master's programs and two doctoral degrees, plus NCAA Division I athletics, ORU is preparing its students mentally, spiritually and physically to go into every person's world. For more information about ORU, visit www.oru.edu.

About Sodexo in North America

Sodexo Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $15 million in grants to fight hunger in America.

 

 

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