Former Canon Tim Nunez and Fr. Jon Davis served at the 2018 Administrative Assistants Luncheon.

They work long hours answering phone calls, taking messages, filing paperwork, and much more. Administrative assistants are the very foundation that strong organizations are built upon.

One such organization is the Diocese of Central Florida, which takes time once a year to reward their administrative assistants with a luncheon fit for royals. On Wednesday, April 24, the ninth annual Administrative Assistants Luncheon will be held at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Orlando.

The holiday-type menu will include smoked turkey, ham, a pasta entrée, vegetables, desserts that include velvet cake and apple pie, salad and beverages. A donation of $15 per person is requested. All administrative assistants receive a gift bag and flowers before they leave.

“I love it,” said St. John the Baptist parish administrator Bev Mitchell. “It’s a passion. Everyone can have a great day that day. This way, everybody knows they’re special.”

The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Doors open at 11 a.m. and a call to order will be held. The luncheon is open to administrative assistants and their respective diocesan staffs, said Mitchell.

“We even invite churches in our surrounding area,” Mitchell said, “so, we can meet them and let them know we are here.”

Mitchell said luncheon organizers are expecting 80 people this year, a slight uptick from last year’s turnout of 75. Two years ago, approximately 50 people attended, so the event has become more popular as the years go by.

Attendees in the past have come from as far away as Bartow, Ocala, Port Orange and Leesburg, Mitchell said. More than 80 churches currently make up the Diocese of Central Florida.

“We invited everybody from the diocese,” Mitchell said.

The attendees are served in style. Food is traditionally served by diocesan clergy. Mitchell said Archdeacon Kristi Alday and Father Jon Davis, the former executive director of Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center in Oviedo, usually attend the event. Former Canon to the Ordinary Tim Nunez, now the rector of Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Wales, also has attended in the past.

For more information, call St. John the Baptist at 407-295-1923.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA