Summer Spotlight: Kacey Tanner
Keystone Food Service believes we can all make a difference in the lives of students. To do this, it takes a fantastic team full of talented people. This summer, we want to feature a few Keystone managers who have made a difference in the schools they serve.
Kacey Tanner has been with Keystone Food Service since 2013. She began as an account manager before being promoted to a Regional Manager in 2015. Kacey currently manages Anderson, Bristow, Bowlegs, Butner, Caney Valley, Catoosa, Copan, Depew, Earlsboro, Keystone, Mounds, Okemah, Paden, Prue, Strother, Tulsa Honor Academy, Tulsa Legacy, Varnum, and Wright Christian Academy.
For Kacey, the two aspects of her job that remain daily are providing exceptional communication and feeding students meals that make a difference. “Communication between the school district administration, Keystone Food Service, my employees, and district employees. I have to make sure that the students are getting the USDA required meals that satisfy our Grandmother Standards and our Keystone 5 Always!” Kacey said.
Kacey says the challenges facing a regional manager can seem never-ending. Still, for her, the main problem is balancing a healthy work and home relationship. “I was raised that family comes first, and your career pays the bills. You need them both, and occasionally they coincide.” She also realizes the difficulties of overseeing several schools while not being able to be in each school daily. She must rely on effectively communicating the Grandmother Standard to each of her teams and trust them to implement the Standard every day.
Although she faces many challenges, Kacey sees the importance of what she is doing. “I am not sure the exact statistics, but thousands of kids in Oklahoma alone do not have a meal when they get home. If we can provide a child with two healthy, well-balanced meals a day, we are making a positive footprint on the next generation.”