Fairfield community donates pizzas as thank you to road crew

FAIRFIELD – The residents of Jefferson County wanted to show their appreciation for the hard work of all the plow drivers who worked long hours last week to clear 2 feet of snow off the roads.

A group of people raised enough money to buy pizza for the employees at Jefferson County Secondary Roads and employees at Waste Management. Those pizzas were delivered to the workers on Friday, Jan. 19. Sue Baker, one of the people who organized this fundraiser, announced on Facebook that money continues to come in, and as of Sunday, Jan. 21, the group had raised enough money to purchase pizza for local law enforcement officers and employees at the local Iowa Department of Transportation office.

Baker said she got the idea to start a fundraiser for the plow drivers and other employees who had to work in the blizzard conditions on Friday, Jan. 12. She said she lives across the street from the Jefferson County Engineer’s Office and Secondary Roads office on North 8th Street. She knows how early in the morning the plow drivers get started, and she was never more grateful for their service than during this most recent blizzard.

Baker took to social media and posted about her desire to start a fundraiser for the plow drivers. Fellow Fairfield resident Soren Pearson commented that he loved the idea and wanted to do his part, too. Pearson created a Venmo link and Paypal link to make it easy for residents to donate, and he kept track of all the donations on a spreadsheet.

“Most people donated between $3 and $10,” Pearson said, adding that at least a couple of people donated $50. “I’m really honored to be part of something big like this. It’s great to be part of something bigger than yourself.”

Baker said she learned from Mendy McAdams at the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce that the chamber was already doing something special for the city’s road crew, so Baker and Pearson turned their focus to the county’s plow drivers. Baker said they purchased the pizzas from Logli’s, and the owner Julio Logli, gave them a discount, too. Once the group realized they had enough money (over $280) to cover 11 pizzas for the county’s road crew, they decided to spend the extra money on 8 pizzas for the employees of Waste Management.

“When Soren and I met today, we were both feeling so blessed and happy,” Baker said. “We’ve had a great community response.”

Billy Droz, the superintendent of Jefferson County Secondary Roads Department, said his guys had to work 12-hour shifts from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. until all the snow was cleared.

“It was quite daunting for the guys because it was hard to make much progress,” he said. “One guy had to sleep here in the shop because the snow was so deep that he couldn’t get home.”

Droz said everybody in the department was pleased with the nice gesture shown by Baker, Pearson and all the residents who donated for the pizzas.

“It definitely made us feel good,” Droz said. “It gives you more pride in your work when people appreciate you. And we’re a bunch of guys who like food, too.”

Baker stated in a Facebook post Sunday that the group hopes to keep this momentum going by covering other essential workers such as firefighters, USPS, EMS and towing companies.

Those interested in donating to this fund can do so at the following outlets:

Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/Soren-Pearson

Venmo @Lois-Baker-6

Cash app @Grandmaoftwenty

Cash App: https://cash.app/$spearson28

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/spearson5 – (if funded from a bank account there are no fees.)

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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