NEW CUMBERLAND — Hancock County Schools are turning to a longtime food service director to oversee its child nutrition program.

During Monday’s meeting, the county school board unanimously approved the hiring of Steve Govey as its child nutrition coordinator, who will work with the county’s Child Nutrition Program and its services. The naming of the new child nutrition coordinator was originally planned for the Jan. 8 meeting, but was ultimately tabled.

As child nutrition coordinator, Govey will be responsible for handling customer service, sanitation, food safety, employee safety, financial management and record keeping, food production, program accountability, nutrition and menu planning, nutrition education and several forms of management and marketing.

Govey comes to the district following nearly 25 years of experience with the food service industry. He served for 24 years with Bob Evans Restaurants, during which he served as a general manager and director of operations, until departing last May due to company downsizing, and has since worked with Pizza Hut, also in a management role.

“One thing I enjoyed the most about the food service industry is I’ll meet the people, I get in there, I dig in, I work side by side, I can cook,” Govey said. “I love the people aspect of it as well as the business aspect of it.”

Govey, who was among 10 applicants for the position, said that following a lengthy run in restaurants, he is looking forward to working in the school setting and looks to accomplish new goals.

“I’m excited, a nervous excitement, a different chapter in my life, but I think once I can get acclimated in the system, I think we can do some great things,” Govey said.

Govey, who is 48, said he is also a Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins fan and enjoys golf. He is also a father of three children — ages 21, 18 and 9 — the eldest of whom currently attends Marshall University.

Following the board’s unanimous approval, Andrea Dulaney, the district’s director of student services, talked about the hard work and dedication that has gone in the lunches. Dulaney worked alongside Assistant Superintendent Dawn Petrovich in the cafeterias over the past few weeks to see what goes on in the kitchens.

“I’ve really just developed a huge appreciation and a new respect for everything that they do and it is an operation,” Dulaney said.

Superintendent Tim Woodward also expressed gratitude to those who serve as cooks either in the county schools or at the central kitchen, also expressing the tough work going into putting everything together since the district instituted its free lunch program last week.

“This process has been hard and it has been difficult, but it has been especially hard and difficult for our cooks who have worked tirelessly, endlessly and have gotten ready for,” Woodward said. “They didn’t realize how many numbers and how much we were going to be up, and a lot of unknowns.”

Woodward expressed gratitude on behalf of the board and students, and stated that the program has received positive responses from parents throughout the county.

Six of the cooks were in attendance at the meeting, and were applauded by the board and audience during the “Take A Bow” portion.

Meanwhile, another issue tabled on Jan. 8 but approved Monday was an agreement with Interactive Educational Services to handle the county schools’ websites.

The board tabled the matter previously after two questions were raised, which Superintendent Tim Woodward answered on Monday.

In regard to contract length, Woodward said that there were no exact amount of years that the agreement was good for, just as long as the district was in a working agreement with the company. The other question was whether or not the district can leave and when they can leave if unsatisfied with the service, with Woodward stating the district can opt out of the agreement at any time and will not have to be assessed an early-termination penalty.

Another website service provider, Schools in Sites, also provided an offer to the district, which had been passed in favor of IES at Woodward’s recommendation.

(Rappach can be contacted at srappach@reviewonline.com)