Having one or two siblings working together at the same business is not too unusual.
But try five.
Five members of the McDermott family all work at OTC’s Café 101 on the Springfield campus. The family has had at least one working there going back more than four years.
“They are absolutely amazing. They are never late. They work hard,” said Nora McAmis-Payne, food service manager for the café. “They are the perfect example of how young adults can come to work and be on time. Their work ethic is amazing.”
In the past four years, only one of the five called in sick and missed a day’s work. She was in the hospital recovering from a bite from a brown recluse spider.
The five come from a family of 13 siblings. The five working in the café now are: Shannon, Kathleen, Keenan, Heather and Meghan.
Brother William was the first to work at the café but he has since gone on to school at Missouri State. Keenan, 20, who has earned her nursing degree at OTC, has been at the café four years.
“Most of the people come to the café don’t know we’re sisters,” said Keenan, who added that she’s kind of a recruiter among her siblings for the café.
“It’s nice to have them to hire. I like it. We all like working with each other.”
All of the sisters have been homeschooled so working together is not a problem.
“Keenan told us they were looking for workers here and it seemed like a good thing to do,” said Meghan, 24. “We’ve known how to cook at an early age from home.”
Shannon, 26, just started at the café a month ago and is saving money to go to college.
“This is a good place to work,” she said.
Kathleen, 21, came to the café because she needed a job and her parents thought it would be a good place to state. Heather, 18, has been at the café two years. She’s using the money for online classes.
McAmis-Payne said she will miss any of the girls when they eventually leave but there’s a bright side to it all, too.
“They have siblings coming up and I’m looking forward to have them work here, too,” she said.
Steve Koehler is coordinator of media relations at Ozarks Technical Community College.
