“Would you like something to drink?” Jim Erickson, Union University’s Director of Creative Dining, asks me before sitting down across from me at a table in Union’s freshly renovated Cobo.
He gets a black coffee, at ease in at the small table. The casualty of the question caught me off guard, but to Erickson it seemed to be second nature, as if I was a guest in his home.
Erickson’s job is to set the tone of the environment in Cobo and in the Lex. Although this is just one of his several responsibilities as the Director of Creative Dining, it is the area where Erickson seems to shine the most.
Erickson has been working here at Union for the past seven years, and has worked in the food industry for 35. His earliest experience with the food business was working in a restaurant when he was in high school. Most of his past experience in the dining service has been in college food service.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Erickson went to Bible School where he worked in the kitchens. When asked how he became interested in college dining, he gives credit to this experience.
“One thing kinda led to another, but it was kinda when I went to Bible school when that connection to working on a college campus happened,” Erikson said.
In fact, not only did Erikson find this experience influential to his career, but also to the rest of his life.
“You make decisions in your life and you don’t realize what the implications are going to be down the road, but I can point to the decision to go to a Christian school as being the decision that really set the direction of my life,” Erickson said. “It was there that I got to meet actually some of the people that I work with in Creative Dining.”
Erickson’s laugh is an authentic expression of joy, with his smile always reaching his eyes. As he talked with me, he fondly waved to others around the room, giving them smiles and receiving smiles in return.
“It’s a great time of life for college students you know, being away with independence. They’re really setting off, on you know, their own careers,” Erickson said. “It’s fun to be a part of that, I love that. In fact I still keep in touch with several people that I have gotten to know on college campuses.”
He then described a phone call he had just that morning with a student he met over 38 years ago.
“I think that’s why I like working in the food service and in a dining hall. Because that’s where the community happens on a campus. That’s where relationships are built, you know that’s where the important conversations are had,” Erikson said, looking out at the dining hall.
Not only does Erickson help cultivate an environment that everyone can enjoy, but it is evident that he enjoys it too.
“Setting the right atmosphere, which this is the right atmosphere,” Erickson said as he fondly gestured at Cobo. “And having food that people want to eat, that just helps build the right atmosphere for a community to have and I love that.”
Jim Erickson may be the most prominent face behind the inner workings of Cobo, but he didn’t forget to remind me of all of his coworkers who make the operation possible. Erickson intentionally listed off several other staff members, all by name and position, when asked how he is able to get his many jobs done so efficiently.
The most significant staff member to Erickson’s role as Director, is Gena Mandle, the Assistant Director of Creative Dining.
Mandle works specifically with the financial and catering events, and even had her own catering business before coming to Union in 2015. Mandle and Erickson work closely together every day, both ensuring that the operation runs smoothly.
“I love working with him, that laugh. He’s infectiously positive,” Mandle said. “I think he’s great. I enjoy working with him and haven’t had a bad day working with him.”
The two make a great team, and Mandle described their differences as strengths.
“We balance each other out, he’s very extroverted. He’d go talk to a stranger on a corner,” Mandle laughed. “He talks to everybody, and I’m more like ‘I’ve got to get to the office and do this.’ I love working with Jim.”
Recently, the most challenging part of the Creative Dining job has been finding enough employees. Due to many people leaving their jobs because of the Covid Pandemic, there aren’t enough people to always fill all the stations in Cobo. Another difficult challenge for the dining staff has been keeping products in stock in our post COVID-19 world.
Erickson is originally from a small town in Illinois where he grew up on a farm. Even as he has travelled in his life, and lived in Chicago for some time, Erickson is still fond of Jackson and the community here.
“I kinda like the pace of life here in Jackson. There’s exciting and fun things to do in Chicago, but it can be a grind you know. It can wear on you,” Erikson said. “So moving to Jackson has been a great move.”
Erickson frequently goes to the farmers market in downtown Jackson. He also worked at the very well known Donut Truck there, and still keeps in touch with them now.
When asked about his favorite memories here, Erickson immediately found the people he has met to be the most impactful.
“I think that most meaningful things that have happened, have happened in relationships with people,” Erickson said.
Even so, his most exciting memory is preparing a colorful soup for former United States President George W. Bush at Union’s 2017 Scholarship Banquet. He looked back on the experience fondly and even showed me pictures of the infamous soup.
Jim Erikson is not only Union’s Director of Creative Dining, but he is also a man of community. Erikson is the embodiment of joy, fellowship and a vital contributor to the Union University Community.
“There’s something about meeting around a table of food that’s really important in a person’s life and I love being a part of making that happen,” Erikson said.