Morey's Piers Named Business Partner of the Year
Did you hear about the big award? No, we’re not talking about Taylor Swift taking home Artist of the Decade at last Sunday’s AMAs. (Although if you really want to celebrate, Tay, we’ve got pier passes with your name on them.). We’re talking about that OTHER prestigious honor. On November 19, Morey’s Piers received the Cumberland County Technical Education Center’s Business Partner of the Year Award.
Last summer, we collaborated with the Millville-based high school on a pilot program that employed 10 of their students in various positions on the piers, from working a game stand to manning admissions in the water park. Because all students shared the same bus, arriving together at 11am and leaving together at 7pm Monday through Friday, we coordinated similar shifts for all participants across departments (and offered free park passes to those with any downtime while waiting for their classmates -- hey, this WAS summer break, after all).
“We encountered so many issues in setting this up, in terms of permitting and transportation,” says Anthony Bermudez, cooperative education coordinator for the tech school. “But no matter what lemons we were handed, Morey’s Piers kept making lemonade. When we thought we were at the end of our rope, the company kept plugging away to make this happen.”
The program filled a practical need for us. Because finding workers for all 1,500 summer positions on the piers can be a major challenge, we regularly attend job fairs, conduct extensive outreach in local classrooms, and even supplement by recruiting from overseas. As part of the US State Department’s Summer Work Travel program, we send managers around the world to interview prospective candidates, and we hire approximately 500-600 international students from 30 countries around the globe -- from Bulgaria to Thailand to, new this year, Japan. But, between our local and international recruiting efforts, we’re STILL short-staffed by almost 200 positions (give or take) every summer season. So, yes, this pilot program helped get us a little closer to our goal.
But, beyond that, it also aligns with an important value at Morey’s Piers: being a good neighbor.
“It was definitely rewarding,” says Nick Ebner, operations manager who spearheaded the pilot program for Morey’s. “The kids were always smiling and positive, and we were happy to hear they got a lot out of the experience.”
Take senior student Charles Coant. Because of the pilot program, he was able to work in the Morey’s Piers IT department, which closely aligns with his studies at school -- one of our goals when placing the kids in a position.
“This was great hands-on experience,” Charles says. “I’d definitely recommend it to other students.”
Next year, we’re looking to grow the program in order to accommodate more kids.
“In the end, they’re able to work on life skills, do some cooperative learning, make money and have fun at the same time,” Anthony says. “It’s just a great opportunity.”
In the meantime, we’re not kidding about those pier passes, Taylor Swift.