• The Georgia Center Hotel is providing rooms for UGA employees and police at a discounted rate
• UGA President Jere Morehead is hunkering down at the hotel
• Essential personnel are designated to work, even during the snow day

The Georgia Center Hotel is not just for Continuing Education. The storm is here with extreme conditions and the Georgia Center Hotel is here to help. University employees and UGA police are staying at the hotel during the storm. They receive a “snow rate” of $69 for a room with 1 bed and $139 for a room with 2 beds. That is compared to the regular rates of $109 and $139, respectively, according to today’s manager on duty, Monica Patrick.

UGA President Jere Morehead is hunkering down at the UGA hotel, receiving the $69 “snow rate.”  He is joined by other employees, including Alain Pope, who works in the Physical Plant Division.

“It’s been good. Food’s good. It’s warm. Nice people too,” says Pope.

While University of Georgia faculty, students, and staff have the day off, there are specific employees on the job, like Pope, ensuring the safety of our community. A UGA alert e-mail stated, “Personnel previously designated to report in weather emergencies should report as assigned.” This critical staff is working to clear roads, to make sure students have food, to monitor housing conditions, and to ensure animals on campus have food. However, this staff needs food and a place to stay, too.

The director at the Office of Emergency Preparedness at UGA, Steve Harris explains the situation.

“What we have on this campus is essential personnel that have to come to work whenever the university is closed for a snow day. Those people are already pre-designated, they know who they are, and our job is to make sure they have accommodations.  We have something set up at the Georgia Center. They are very gracious enough to accommodate folks as they can and then set them up with food provisions.”

The hotel’s director, Bill Crowe, says they work with UGA departments in providing housing and meals to the employees that want to stay on campus during weather emergencies.

Manager Monica Patrick received a call from Snelling Dining Hall looking to book about 25 rooms for employees. Employees staying at the hotel will spend the night, get up, go to work, and return to the hotel when the day’s work is done. Patrick says that it is mostly employees only staying at the hotel, but that she has seen a few employees with their families come in.

The essential staff is helping our community and the Georgia Center Hotel is helping them.

Noel Couch, Grady Newsource.