Euphoria hit the streets of Nairobi recently when the US President, Barrack Obama, visited Kenya to co-host the entrepreneurship summit.

This was a historical occasion, as he is the first ever US President to visit whilst serving in office. Obviously, it was also an exciting time as Obama was visiting his ancestral home, and the Kenyan public were ecstatic as they were eagerly plastered to their TV screens, waiting for him to step off the plane onto Kenyan soil. When he did…Kenya went wild!

For GSS, the plans leading up to his visit took a lot of our employees' time and hard work. Having started a new contract with the US Embassy in Nairobi in April, we were swamped with a few hundred additional support personnel involved with security, as well as the general admin surrounding his visit.

Working out of a very compact facility, GSS and The Kenyan Good Food Company (TGFC), our joint venture partner, provided the catering service in the embassy, managed to increase their output (and sales) throughout this time and ensured that not only did we feed everyone, but that they left satisfied and with a great impression. Everyone showed their appreciation for the hard work put into ensuring their requirements were met.

As the security ramped up, and the work intensified, we provided round the clock service, and as tired as the staff were, we managed to serve every meal, as well as coffee, with a smile and a sense of pride. After all, the visit was important to us all, as well as being important in placing both companies in the professional light in which we pride ourselves on.

By way of showing a small token of gratitude, all the staff were invited into the Embassy grounds on the day of the 25^th where President Obama took time out of his busy schedule to greet the employees and the families of the Embassy…a dream to so many Kenyans! The staff can proudly say that they not only saw the President in person, but some of them actually got to shake his hand!

The whole lead up to the event did not go unnoticed and there have been a number of personal emails thanking GSS and TGFC for the hard work and professional service provided.

“As the Country Manager for Kenya, it fills me once again with pride at the professional approach and understanding of our staff. I would like to once again send my thanks to them all for making the whole support operation such a success,” said Colin Mason.