Crowd favorite:† Momís worker Gail Wiebe loves her job. The best part, she says, is the student population. Born in Massilon, Ohio in April 19, 1983, Wiebe lived in Dalton, Ohio since 1985. She went to Dalton High School and then Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, graduating in 2002 with an Associates Degree.
ìIt was close to home, and I loved cooking, so I figured ëwhy not?í” said Wiebe. ìI had a blast ó I would do it all over again if I could.”
After graduating, she worked in The Old Jaol until she came to Momís in November of 2004, where she met her future fiancÈ Dan Cowhick.
ìWe met here. We were friends first, and he tried for three years to date me. I played the hard to get card, of course,” said Wiebe. ìWeíd sit on the golf carts during breaks and talk about life, and when he was in the hallway cleaning Iíd come give him a hug. Then it just got more and more developed.
ìHeís a great guy ó heís a hardworking man, and he tells me he loves me every day. Weíre definitely getting married.” continued Wiebe. ìHeís made me feel so much better about myself. He wouldnít care if I was 500 pounds. Itís freaking awesome.”
Cowhick and Wiebe are currently engaged and have a son, Austin Cowhick, who was born on Aug. 28. This completes the trend of every female Momís employee actually being a mom, and makes her the youngest mom of the Momís.
ìI was in 18 hours of labor for that kid. But I didnít start to cry until I saw his face for the first time. Tears of joy, of course,” said Wiebe. ìWhen I held him there was an instant connection to him. And just like that, I was a mom.”
In addition to a son, Wiebe also has five tattoos, one of which is the Kanji symbol for ìsmile.” ìI got it the week before September 11, so it felt really fitting. It means a lot to me now,” said Wiebe. Another is a cross engraved with the letters ìA.E.T,” the initials of a close friend of hers that was killed by a drunk driver.
Wiebe said she loves working Momís. Lately, though, student thefts have really made her job more difficult, she said.
ìItís a bigger deal than the students understand. We lost a lot of money from kids stealing ó almost $50,000 alone from just a month of thefts,” said Wiebe. ìWe get tired of trying to bust people. Itís not our job to do that.”
ìWeíre thinking of moving the store upstairs, which will probably ease the theft, but then weíll be understaffed,” continued Wiebe. ìA lot of workers really want to walk out just because of the thefts, itís so rough. But I donít know if I could go if I wanted ó I need the job, especially now that I have a son.”
Beyond that, though, she loves working in Momís. She says the students are her favorite part of the job.
ìI love to joke with the students. I love seeing them laugh and smile ó their good moods put me in a good mood,” said Wiebe. ìWhy be so serious all the time? Lifeís too short to be in a bad mood.”