Newspaper Page Text
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com
She (Times
gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Deputy Kevin Snyder with the Hall County Sheriff laughs with a customer at The Honey Baked Ham Company while directing traffic on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Honey Baked Ham hires
officers during the holidays to control traffic and watch for unruly customers.
Meet Deputy Kevin Snyder, who
works hard to keep Honey Baked
Ham shoppers safe in the small lot
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
Even though for his health
he no longer eats ham, Dep
uty Kevin Snyder of the Hall
County Sheriffs Office shows
up to The Honey Baked Ham
Company on Thompson Bridge
Road every Thanksgiving,
Christmas and Easter.
He’s not there to stand in
line because his wife told him
to pick up the turkey — he’s
there to protect those that are.
“I’m here pretty much as
traffic detail,” Snyder said.
“It’s really tight quarters, and
if I don’t keep the traffic mov
ing, it will get jammed up and
we’ll have an accident.”
Honey Baked Ham has hired
Snyder, along with other law
enforcement, for the past nine
years to help keep things under
control at its store in Gaines
ville that gets especially busy
around the holidays.
And for the volume the
store sees, it’s a small space to
control.
The store and the parking lot
both take up just a small corner
on Thompson Bridge Road, so
Snyder has to be there to make
sure things flow.
“I’ve never had a fender-
bender in here in the time I’ve
been here, so I’m doing good so
far,” Snyder said, laughing. “I
need some wood to knock on.”
If it wasn’t for an old, shut
down Citgo gas station next
door, there would be people
parking across the street at
Publix, running across the
street to pick up their Thanks
giving Day meal.
After nine years, Snyder
said things have stayed mostly
quiet as he’s been out at the
store.
It’s the interaction with all
the customers he enjoys the
most.
“I like doing it, I love doing
it,” Snyder said, as a customer
drove by wishing him a happy
Thanksgiving. “The people I
get to deal with is awesome.
And I’ve been doing it so long,
I see the same patronus com
ing out here year after year, so
everybody knows me.”
He said he hands out glow
sticks to some of the kids who
are there with their parents.
“I’ll get out here and start
carrying on with everybody
coming in,” Snyder said. “It
just livens up the place when
you get along with everybody. ”
And good thing Snyder
is there to liven things up,
because sometimes the line
can wrap around the building
with a 40-minute wait. That’s
what Tom Fairbrother, gen
eral manager, said happened
last year. In his first Thanks
giving as general manager,
he made sure the store was
prepared.
“We’ve got nine people on
three registers,” Fairbrother
said. “You can move them
right along and the line never
backs up. There’s one on each
side of the register, so one just
scans and it keeps flowing.”
He said “they made it sound
scary,” but everything went
well in the days leading up to
Thanksgiving.
“You just have to know
what you’re doing and have a
great staff,” Fairbrother said.
“Just have an idea what you’re
doing, and you’re good.”
It also helps to have that
deputy outside. Snyder said
he’s usually out at the store
anywhere between eight and
13 hours for two or three days
around the holidays. The extra
money in his pocket is nice and
his hard work was rewarded as
he got to spend Thanksgiving
with family and get his hands
on some of his favorite Thanks
giving side dish — cranberry
sauce.
“Cranberry sauce, over
everything,” Snyder said.
“Well, sweet potato souffle,
too. I like the sweet stuff.”
Left: Hanna
Grogan, left,
presents a
ham to a
customer at
The Honey
Baked Ham
Company on
Thanksgiving
eve.
Below:
Deputy Kevin
Snyder directs
traffic at
The Honey
Baked Ham
Company.
Snyder has
been working
the holiday
rush for the
past nine
years and still
enjoys it.
FAITH EVENTS
Mike Pardue. 5 p.m. Nov. 25. Old
Nacoochee Baptist Church, 487 Hub
Tatum Road, Sautee. 706-892-9236.
Singles Enrichment/Empowerment. 9-9:45
a.m. Nov. 25, Dec. 23, Jan. 27, Feb. 24
and March 24. Mount Zion Baptist Church,
4000 Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery
Branch, mzbcinfo@yahoo.com.
2018 Festival of the Nativity. Display of
more than 800 nativities. 6-9 p.m. Nov.
29-30 and Dec. 1.3-9 p.m. Dec. 2. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 1234 Riverside Drive, Gainesville.
770-561-1199.
Movie Night. 7 p.m. Dec. 1, Jan. 26,
Feb. 23 and March 30. Chicopee United
Methodist Church, 3 First St., Gainesville.
770-634-6803 or pegflute@yahoo.com.
Christmas Lunch. Noon to 3 p.m. Dec.
8. Mount Zion Baptist Church, 4000
Thurmon Tanner Road, Flowery Branch.
mzbcinfo@yahoo.com.
Wishes and Candles. Christmas concert.
7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 8-9. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Sugar
Hill Stake), 4833 Suwanee Dam Road,
Suwanee. 404-375-7882 orcketchem@
ldspublicaffairs.org.
Christmas Musical. 4-6 p.m. Dec.
9. Mount Zion Baptist Church, 4000
Thurmon Tanner Road, Flowery Branch.
mzbcinfo@yahoo.com.
Marriage Enrichment. 9-9:45 a.m. Dec. 9
and Jan. 13. Mount Zion Baptist Church,
4000 Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery
Branch. 770-967-3722 or mzbcinfo@
yahoo.com.
Christmas Lessons and Carols. 8:45 a.m.
Dec. 16. Cumming First United Methodist
Church, 770 Canton Highway, Cumming.
The LeFevre Quartet. 6 p.m. Dec. 16.
Lighthouse Baptist Church, 329 Harmony
Church Road, Dawsonville.
The LeFevre Quartet and Sounds Of Jericho.
7 p.m. Dec. 28. The Venue at Christ Place
Church, 3494 Atlanta Highway, Oakwood.
Rethinking Retirement. Retreat to
encourage and equip elders for the work
of discipling the next generation. 9 a.m.
Feb. 15 to 10 a.m. Feb. 17. Ark on Lake
Lanier, 6250 Old Dawsonville Road,
Gainesville. $150-400.
Darrell and Dawn Ritchie. Noon Feb. 26.
Concord Baptist Church, 6905 Concord
Road, Cumming.
ONGOING
Celebrate Recovery. 6:15-9 p.m. every
Friday. Dinner, large group service and
small groups. Children’s ministry available
for children of all ages. CrossBridge
Community Church, 751 Ga. 53 E,
Dawsonville. $2-3. 770-883-2576 or
slreeves2@yahoo.com.
Free clothing store. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
every Tuesday. Infant, children and adult
clothing available for those in need.
Donations appreciated. Holy Trinity
Anglican Church, 7049 Spout Springs
Road, Flowery Branch. 678-336-6964.
Gentle Hearts Ministry Food Pantry.
Distribution of food. 5-6 p.m. every
Wednesday. St. Paul United Methodist
Church, 705 Summit St., Gainesville. 770-
536-4910.
Senior adult choir. 1 p.m. Wednesdays.
First Presbyterian Church, 800 S. Enota
Drive, Gainesville. Membership not
required. 770-532-0136.
