Public Servants Enjoy a Thanksgiving Meal on the Mayflower

Fire trucks, police cars and ambulances lined the bridge over Rock Creek Parkway next to the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown on Thanksgiving day. It was not fire, crime or emergency that brought the hard working public servants to the neighborhood; it was the promise of a hot turkey dinner served by the Four Seasons as a gift and a thank you.

For 11 years, the Four Seasons in partnership with Secor Group has hosted "Thanksgiving on the Mayflower." This year's event will serve up over 300 meals to police officers, Fire fighters, EMTs, doctors and nurses serving D.C. on Thanksgiving day.

One at a time, fire engines and police cruisers pulled up on M St. Personnel were greeted by a giant live turkey, hotel manager Thomas Legner took the honor of wearing that costume. The head pilgrim, Christian Clerc is the regional vice president and general manager for the Four Seasons. Clerc's daughter, Georgia, wore an Indian costume and helped clear plates and bring extra helpings to diners on the Mayflower.

A banquet table draped in a table linen with a festive  arrangement of leaves and gourds had large silver candelabras setting the tone for the feast. Officer Barbara Muller of the U.S. Park Police said she has been coming to the Thanksgiving day celebration since 2000. She chooses to work the holiday to make sure she has the Christmas holiday free. Muller agreed that the service at the feast was probably better than she would get at home, "it's a nice touch."

Three staff members from GW Hospital stopped by to get their meals to go and to bring a few extra back for others working the holiday. Kith Solomon and Zelalem Tadesse work in the radiology unit and Chuck Daniels works in the respiratory unit. Daniels said he started his shift at 12 a.m., would work until 3 p.m. Thursday and then has to work again at 12 a.m. Friday morning. Solomon, with his dinner in hand, agreed, "crazy shifts." The three headed back to the hospital smiling.

Office Jerome Stoudamire with the U.S. Park Police SWAT team brought pink roses to hand out to all the female staff helping make the Thanksgiving event a success. Stoudamire said this is his fourth year coming the Thanksgiving on the Mayflower and said he is "appreciative" of the staff for taking time from their families to make the holiday better for officers like him. He remarked that "even the way the economy is, they have made this a priority."

Clerc–the Pilgrim, not the Indian–said the first rush was at 11:30 a.m. when the police came through and the second was kicking into gear around 12:15 p.m. as the firefighters stopped by. The meals served at the Seasons Restaurant and Bourbon Steak combined with the Mayflower dinners meant the chef ordered half a ton of turkey. "That's a lot of turkey," laughed Clerc.