5-Year-Old HoDo Employee Shines at Work

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This is the time of year when students begin their summer jobs. The Hotel Donaldson has recently added one of these students to their staff… and he’s only 5 years old.

The Hotel Donaldson, home to 17 unique rooms and around 80 employees, has just added a new Light Bulb Specialist. His name is Glen Fogarty and he’s 5 years old.

“I do a good job here,” says Glen Fogarty.

Glen arrives in his official HoDo shirt equipped with his own set of keys, ready to work alongside a family friend, who also happens to be head of maintenance.

“I had a couple of things to do in some of the rooms and decided maybe he should have his own key. And next thing I know he’s got his own shirt. So he was following me around at first and then I began following him around,” says Glen’s boss and Head of Maintenance Barb “Dusty” Urness.

Now, an official employee, Glen has a routine. He goes to the front desk, gets a list of rooms, and goes to each one very seriously checking every light bulb in the room. 

Once he finds one that’s out, he changes it with some help.

“He knows that the clients that come to the hotel are depending on him for their light,” says Glen’s mom Mara Morken-Fogarty.

Glen has had a tough year. Some of his best friends moved away. But his mom says this job has helped him out of his rut.

“He just shines a little bit brighter I think,” says Morken-Fogarty.

Potentially one of the youngest employees in the region, even he gets stressed out at work.

“He was getting his hair cut last week and the stylist said, ‘So how have you been, Glen?’ because he always sees the same girl. And he said to her, ‘Ugh, I just need a day off,'” Morken-Fogarty says.

At the end of what is surely a long day for Glen, it’s time to get paid. But what the 5-year-old receives as payment isn’t money. To him, it’s better.

“We need two chocolate ice creams!” Glen exclaims.

Glen gets the occasional dollar from “Dusty” but his main source of payment is the HoDo’s special homemade ice cream. And always chocolate.

Little Glen says his goal is to be able to fix everything in the hotel, from electronics to the toilets.