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Martin\u2019s first job was at our local Hardee\u2019s in the days before they served breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt Hardee\u2019s, I learned the urgency of customer service and following health department codes. I spent many years with Hardee\u2019s corporate and worked for two other franchises. In 1985, I was awarded Manager of the Year and won several presidential awards, including a trip to Vegas. I went from line cook to manager, training manager, and a district manager there,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A season with Jack Palmer Food Service placed him in different roles and further immersed him in the food service industry. \u201cI did a lot of multi-tasking there, from buying to assisting with the warehouse managers and office managers,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI also handled the credit department, setting up new accounts and dealing with delinquent ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin grew in other ways while working at Palmer, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile there, I joined the local chapter of the American Cancer Society and helped in their Hee Haw and Music and Memories shows. That was my first time fundraising for a cause. I served as a writer for the skits, participated in them, and sang a little. It was hard work but so rewarding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All those experiences were essential as Martin and his wife, Trudy, opened their cafe, Sweet Aroma, in 2006 in Unionville. They filled the community\u2019s hearts and stomachs until personal health issues forced them to close in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin said, \u201cWe made so many friends while there. You can make a lot of friends if you offer them a good meal and some hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin stayed plugged into the community by catering at Homes of Hope and for dinner theaters at The Fly Arts Center. 2019 found him managing Koffee Beanz, bringing new life to its business and menu, even during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seasons changed again for Martin in December of 2021, just as he was preparing for a total knee replacement. With the Shelbyville Community Soup Kitchen planning the opening of its current location on Cannon Boulevard, Martin was asked if he knew someone that might oversee the kitchen in their new dine-in facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI pointed to myself and said, \u2018Me.\u2019 The rest is history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January, he began assisting with Tuesday to-go meals from the old Save A Lot property. He progressed to the new location, where he scheduled the volunteers and helped the groups prepare the meals while maintaining the kitchen\u2019s mission. An average of 125 nutritional meals are served every Tuesday and Thursday, feeding the homeless and needy and assisting the at-risk population in Bedford County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin explained, \u201cWe have a stateof- the-art kitchen and an inviting atmosphere. Like a popular gym, we are a no-judgment zone. We strive to be good stewards of what\u2019s been given to us to oversee. I\u2019m encouraged by the generous donations from individuals, businesses, and churches.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sweet aroma has come full circle from Martin\u2019s childhood kitchen to the community table, each experience leading him back to where it started in many ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt really is better to give than to receive. From cooking for [the] family to preparing meals for hundreds and even thousands in a day\u2019s time, it\u2019s not been easy, but it\u2019s what I do. Chances are that you or someone you know at one point or another has had a biscuit, burger, or entree that I\u2019ve had a part in,\u201d said Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What he\u2019s learned in his years behind the counter gives him a different perspective on how we tend to respond to one another.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin said, \u201cPeople are so overwhelmed and so busy in their lives, and the people you encounter daily, whether at a public restaurant or the soup kitchen, you never know what baggage they\u2019re carrying that day or what\u2019s happened to them before you met them. The ability to serve and please them is not something everyone can do\u2014not everyone can try to make everybody happy; in fact, no one can make everyone happy. But you have to realize that the person who may be upset or angry at you is not actually angry at you. They\u2019re troubled by something that happened to them before you met them. So the way you act and react to their situation can change them and make their day brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can\u2019t we all offer more grace and mercy? What a sweet aroma! GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Shelbyville Community Soup Kitchen opened its current location on Cannon Boulevard under the caring direction of Robert Martin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-9860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-january"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/DSC_2376-Edit-1024x683.jpg\")
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