OCEAN CITY — Life lessons such as work ethic, character and family forged for a core of employees of Phillips Crab House way back in the early 1980s have not been lost on the group and getting together each year to reflect has been a tradition.
About two dozen former Phillips employees, all of whom worked at the historic crab house in the early 1980s, returned to the Ocean City area last weekend for an annual Ryder Cup-style golf tournament and more importantly to commemorate the bonds they forged as young men working in the resort three decades ago. The impressive roster includes adult men who have long since gone on to their own successful careers and started families, but the memories and perhaps more importantly the life lessons learned during those halcyon summers in the resort still resonate 30 years later.
The group includes prominent businessmen and pillars in the community, including Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Brian Shockley, K-Coast Surf Shop co-owner Chris Shanahan, for example. Anne Arundel County business owner Chip Van Reenan, who serves as the de facto leader of the annual reunion and the glue that helps hold the crew together, along with resort business owner Ben Cooper, who still works at Phillips during the summer three decades later, are also among the crew of former Phillips busboys that have made their mark on the community and continue the core values they learned as teens working a summer job.
Last week, the crew of around 22 to 24 former Phillips employees met again for the annual Ryder Cup golf tournament, a tradition carried on for 30 years. The tournament pits the Blues against the Reds in a weekend-long format. For the uninitiated, Phillips busboys have always worn either red shirts or blue shirts and the color of the work uniforms designates different responsibilities and experience levels. It’s a tradition that has been going on almost since the beginning of the seafood empire when the historic restaurant on 20th Street included only a handful of picnic tables on a sandy lot back in the 1950s.
Van Reenan said this week the core group of employees have long since moved on and started their own careers and families, but the values they learned working for the iconic Brice and Shirley Phillips have not been lost over the decades.
“It’s really a neat thing,” he said. “We all worked together, played sports together and enjoyed everything the summer at the beach has to offer, but we also learned important life lessons along the way and the importance of friendships, teamwork and family. Bryce and Shirley would be proud we’ve continued this tradition because that’s what they always wanted to create, that sense of family and hard work and dedication.”
Van Reenan said a summer job at Phillips was highly coveted back in the early 1980s and still is today to a large extent. He said potential employees were subjected to a rigorous review and interview process and typically the brightest and the best were hired. Once hired, employees were treated like family members and the tough lessons such as hard work, dedication and commitment were extolled on the new family members.
“We all have our own lives and careers and families and many of us are scattered far and wide, but it is important for us to maintain that bond,” he said. “We get together for softball tournaments throughout the summer, but the annual Ryder Cup each September is something none of us want to miss. Personally, I learned so much during my summers at Phillips, lessons that still apply to my life today as grown man, and every time I’m down there and ride past the crab house, it all comes rushing back for me.”