OK, so full disclosure, we don’t have an “Employee of the Month” program at Madroña. That’s mostly due to the fact that we have such a great staff (and everyone would be “Employee of the Month” each month). But then again, nepotism runs strong in the wine industry, and we felt we did need to highlight someone truly special from our crew. So our “Employee of the Month” is (drumroll please!)…Tessa Bush!
A little backstory here. Tessa graduated from WSU (Go Cougs!) last summer with a business degree in Hospitality and a minor in Wine and Beverage Business Management. Right now, her true love is bartending, and she's really good at it!
Maggie and I knew that we had a long trip planned to Europe coming up, and we could use a couple more hands here at the winery. At the same time, Maggie's dad (who has worked in the winery during harvests in the past) had moved up to the house near ours. As he is no longer driving, having someone here to help would be important.
So, we asked Tessa, post graduating from University, if she would be interested in coming down and working here for a few (like nine) months before setting off on her own career path. We were delighted that she agreed. Although there was a small amount of her work focused in the cellar (and she is now forklift certified!), most of her job was focused on the tasting experience (with all of you) as well as day-to-day operations of running the business (especially while Maggie was gone).
Tessa excelled at it all as her love of hospitality intertwined with the wines. You could see it in her face, when she was helping any group of tasters, that she truly wanted to find the right wine for the right person! (And purely from a business point of view, Tessa could excited new tasters in Madroña just by engaging with them while explaining the thoughts of the wines through the family history!)
Her time here was also balanced by working at the Smith Flat House and then the Tap House as she honed her skills as a server and bartender. Her ability to integrate the "runnings" of the business (bookeeping, deposits, invoicing, accounts payable, etc.) with the "front of house" hospitality really makes her an asset for any restaurant as she moves forward.
Today, we drive to Bellingham, WA where Tessa will start a new chapter of her life near friends from college. We are so excited for her, and of course, we wish her success upon success! Thank you, Tessa, for all your help, and we will miss you!!!
(Editor note here: We will also miss dinners with Tessa, playing cards and MarioKart with Tessa, discussions with Tessa, cooking with Tessa....This was a wonderful and unexpected time together (post-university, a parent doesn't ever know how much time you'll have together again). And, our trip to Europe, we now understand, was only possible this year with Tessa's help! Thus the "Employee of the Month" honor!!!)
(Second note from the Editor here: I included the old family photos simply because I saw them last week while looking for a Cab Franc picture of grapes. They made me feel good, and brought back memories of a simpler time (and all the years of family working together!). In the picture of our family above, it's Tessa, Maggie, Paul and Hanna, going left to right.)