Sandy Oldham has translated her "gift for gab" and love for meeting people into a rewarding career in food service. Sandy supervises the front of the house at the Apple Bin Restaurant & General Store near Cessna, helping to hire and schedule servers, running the cash register, greeting customers and filling in wherever needed to keep the restaurant's service running smoothly. This Claysburg-Kimmel graduate started her career as a waitress in 1986 and worked in a number of restaurants before coming to the Apple Bin 18 months ago when it came under new ownership. Sandy says she enjoys interaction with customers. "You have to be a people-person to like this job," she says. "You need to greet customers with a smile and have a pleasant personality; to make them feel at home."

She says she likes being constantly busy in the restaurant and usually doesn't mind "too much" being on her feet all day. She also likes working as part of a team. "The key to a well-run restaurant is teamwork. Everyone has to work hard to do his or her job to make it a pleasant experience for the customer." She would advise a young person considering a future career in the business to combine getting hands-on experiences working in a restaurant with a degree in hotel-restaurant management. "To make this a successful career you must understand what goes on behind the doors to make a restaurant run and learn as much as you can about the business."

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