Binghamton University Dining Services (BUDS) is proud to recognize outstanding employees for their hard work and dedication to service. This year we are celebrating one of our exceptional employees, Joyce Haines, on her 50th anniversary at Binghamton University. When Joyce first entered our doors, fifty years ago, she greeted the community as a line server. Today, Joyce is the Accounting Supervisor. We are grateful to have her as a part of the BUDS family and are thrilled to recognize her this year.

 

In celebration of Joyce’s anniversary, a small event was hosted at Appalachian Dining Hall, with staff, members of Joyce’s family, and some special guests. President of Binghamton University, Harvey Stenger, delivered a short speech in recognition of Joyce’s years of service. He was also joined by Senior Vice President of Sodexo Universities, Dan Auger. Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Bethann Ord presented Joyce with a signed Basketball and District Manager of BUDS, Jim Ruoff presented Joyce with the ultimate gift: a pair of lifetime season tickets to Binghamton University men’s and women’s basketball games! Congratulations Joyce! Thank you for all of your hard work. 

 

In the following interview, Joyce was able to reminisce about her last 50 years at Binghamton University, and some lessons she has learned along the way. Enjoy!

 

“I am the Accounting Supervisor, so I do accounts payable, and reconcile reports, payroll, and I oversee the inventory. Anything they want, if they need help, I’ll do it.”

 

“My first job was to be a line server, and I had Tuesdays and Thursdays off. That lasted for a short time and then they put me into the kitchen, I worked the salad department. From there, I went all over campus. I worked at the bookstore. I managed a snack bar during the day when Hinman Snack Bar used to be open. I also went down to the commissary, and I did the bidding for the produce, and the campus inventory. I think my favorite job back then was the snack bar. That was a lot of fun. My second favorite job was working down in the commissary. It was a commissary and bakery combined, and I took care of all the books down there. And the people were just so much fun, it was like a family.”

 

“We were local. We lived out in Vestal, New York. Out in the country. It was a big white country home, with a beautiful red barn. Our lawn was an acre, we had apple trees and beautiful stone around them, and in those, beautiful flowers that my mother planted. We [also] had an acre of potatoes, and an acre of regular garden. We all chipped in, my mother made sure there were no weeds around. In the summertime, I got to drive the tractor...We had a pond on the hill, so in the summer, we went swimming, and in the winter, we went ice skating. So that was fun. And believe it or not, once we did a lot of work…we would all hop on the tractor, on the wagon, and follow the track down to the ice cream store, and everybody would get their ice cream. So that was one of our fun trips!”

 

 

“You can be a strong woman when you have to be. You can hold your head up high if you had a bad day. You can step up, and figure out ‘how can we fix this?’ and that’s what you do...help someone, if they’re down in the dumps, see what you can do to help them. This is what this whole world needs. Work together. Stop, think, and help one other. Just be a friend to somebody if they need it.”

 

“Come to Binghamton University and watch basketball. Oh yeah, we’re season ticket holders! It started out as a birthday present to my husband because he loves sports. If we’re doing something together it’s fun.”

 

“When times get tough, we all pull together, like a family would. If someone got sick, we were all there, and we would take up a nice collection, or get them some kind of gift. If the numbers come in good, that means you’re doing your job. We’re all here to help one another. I like that, helping one another.”

 

“Be kind to one another. Help one another. Don’t be judgmental.”