Our club has nominated Club member Victoria Bruneni's What the Truck food service for District 5520's 2021 Sonny Brown Award. Victoria runs her Santa Fe Airport-based business in accordance with the principles of Rotary's 4-way test. She treats her customers and employees with honesty and goodwill and sells quality products at a fair price. During the Covid crisis, her What the Truck restaurant has provided meals to more than 5,000 front-line workers at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
Rotary District 5520
Sonny Brown Business of the Year Award Application-2021
Business Name: What the Truck
Location: Santa Fe Regional Airport, 121 Aviation Dr., Santa Fe, NM, 87507
Principal(s): _Victoria Bruneni
Business Category d (choose one per application from below)
- Small Business: 1-10 employees (Non-Rotarian owned or principal)
- Medium: 11-50 employees (Non-Rotarian owned or principal)
- Large: Over 50 employees (Non-Rotarian owned or principal)
- At-Large: any size, Rotarian owned business
Type of Business: Food service & catering
Sponsoring Rotary Club: Rotary Club of Santa Fe
Club Contact: Katie Updike
Please answer these questions in essay format in less than 500 words on a separate sheet and attach.
- Does the Company have a reputation for ethical business practices? Victoria Bruneni conducts her business, treats her employees & deals with her customers in full accord with Rotary’s 4 Way Test. She pays her workers a fair livable wage with benefits. She provides a quality product at a fair price, and provides a service that enriches the lives of others and grows the common good.
- Does the Company have a reputation for taking good care of its employees? Yes. What the Truck provides a safe, supportive and friendly work environment and work schedules that accommodate employees’ life circumstances. Employees are allowed flexible schedules so that they can be with families, keep medical appointments. Employees are paid above standard pay for catering/restaurant salaries. Employees are encouraged to take classes and further educations in culinary arts at no cost to the employee.
- Does the Company support community activities? Ms. Bruneni always looks for ways to help the community, for example - serving 5,000 meals to front-line workers at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. This philanthropic philosophy is a bedrock of Ms. Bruneni’s business, with a Pay What You Can meal offering for anyone who needs it. People in the community can call or order online and request up to four of the meals while supplies last. Then you simply pick them up at the airport; no need to say how much, if anything, you can pay. Last year the company donated lunch to every teacher in Santa Fe Public Schools as token of appreciation, (approximately 1400 teachers). The company donated food for a memorial service for a young boy that committed suicide. The company provides lunch every week to the Interact Club of CHS.
- Do the Company executives participate in supporting community activities? Ms. Bruneni has served as chairperson of Santa Fe’s Parks and Recreations Advisory Board and is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. She heads up the Santa Fe Public Schools Adelante annual food drive.
- Does the Company encourage and support its employees in involvement in community activities? Ms. Bruneni encourages employees to volunteer and become civically engaged, for example participating in Santa Fe’s annual Forth of July Pancakes on the Plaza, helping with the local homeless shelter and the SFPS Thanksgiving food drive and .
- Has the Company or its Principal(s) received any other awards? The company has received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Santa Fe Public Schools Language and Culture Department, but actually Ms. Bruneni has been too busy serving the community to keep a record. It is about the service we give, not the recognition we may receive.
Is there any additional information that will be useful for consideration? Ms. Bruneni said she was inspired to serve meals to seniors who were quarantining during the pandemic. Some of them would receive food bags, but they wouldn’t have the energy or the kitchen savvy to turn those ingredients into wholesome, tasty meals. “Giving back is a massive part of my being,” Ms. Bruneni says. “My heart’s on my sleeve. I find ways to cut costs now because I have a big passion for the community and I want to give back.”