April, 2006 Working@Duke

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WORKING@DUKE

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CELEBRATE THE STORY

Acclaimed writers coming to Duke for 2006 NC Festival of the Book.

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N EWS YO U CA N U S E

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TALKING WITH KEMEL DAWKINS

An interview with the vice president for Campus Services.

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Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 2

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t’s not just a rivalry. It’s The Rivalry. And when the Duke and Carolina men’s basketball teams met March 4 in Cameron Indoor Stadium before a sell-out crowd of 9,314 fans, it wasn’t just the players who had to be prepared. From the manager of concessions, to the volunteers who distributed statistics throughout the game, to the housekeeper who returned to clean Cameron at 3 a.m., scores of people work behind the scenes before and after each match up at Cameron. They may not be Cameron Crazies, but without them, games at Duke would not be the same. “We’ve got so many dedicated people who help make Duke Basketball special,” said Jon Jackson, Assistant Director of Athletics/ Communication and Media Relations. “Many of them aren’t players or coaches and many don’t ever receive recognition. They do it because they’re passionate about Duke and want to be part of our program. They are, and we appreciate them.”

FISCAL FITNESS Financial Fitness Week workshops set for May.

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April 2006

Pop. Pop. Pop-pop. Blevins tossed a popcorn bloom in his mouth. “I could live off the stuff,” he said. Duke basketball fans sure do. For the Duke-Carolina matchup on March 4, Blevins popped 110 pounds of kernels – enough for about 800 personal tubs. As manager of Blue Devil Concessions, Blevins is the game fare guru who sees to it that fans who pack Cameron – and other Duke athletic venues – have plenty of popcorn, water, soda, pizza, nachos, ice cream, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, barbecue and more. “We’re putting on a show just like the team’s putting on a show,” said Blevins, who is 56. He joined Duke in 1993 from Macon, Ga., where he managed a Red Lobster. His first assignment at Duke was helping run a Burger King in the Behind the Scenes ~ continued on page 4

S S S S S S S S

It was 8 a.m. on the day before the Duke-Carolina game, and Ken Blevins was already fast at work inside a garage near Cameron Indoor Stadium, preparing for the biggest college basketball rivalry of the season. Oil sizzled as Blevins poured corn kernels into pans. The kernels hissed. Steam rose from the stainless steel machine.

Ken Blevins, right, manager for Blue Devil Concessions, prepared the popcorn for the Duke-Carolina game with Roy Shambley, assistant concessions manager.

This paper consists of 30% recycled post-consumer fiber.


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