MAN'S EFFORT REWARDING

George Coffman took a $3.25 pay cut to find some peace of mind.

Now he figures he has the means to get a piece of the action in the fast-food business.

"Nine months with McDonald's and I'm working as a grill crew supervisor," Coffman said. "I told them I knew more about the food service business than somebody making minimum wage."

He learned about food preparation as a food service specialist in the Army. He later worked as a forklift driver for Contico Plastics in Earth City, a suburb of St. Louis, for $7.50 an hour.

"McDonald's people told me I would have plenty of chances to prove what I said I knew, and they made good on that promise," he said. "Who knows, maybe some day I'll be managing my own store or owning one of these."

Coffman moved from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau to take his fiance away from the crime of a big city.

"We were living in Bridgeton, where a girl was kidnapped and killed," he said. "My mother lives in the city, where they have drive-by shootings and murders. I wanted to get away from all of that."

So he took the television he owned, some clothes and a few pieces of furniture to Cape Girardeau to see if he could build a different life.

"I heard that there were all kinds of jobs down here because of all of the restaurants," he said. "I knew I could get a job the first day I looked."

Coffman, who cuts a lean and hungry look, doesn't lack ambition or confidence.

"I've always felt that I could work my way into a decent wage if somebody gave me a chance," Coffman said.

He arrives for work at 4 a.m. and leaves at 1 p.m.

"I actually don't get paid to start until 4:30 a.m., but I like to get there early because I need to plan out what I'm going to do and make sure everything is in order," he said.

Coffman, 26, heard of a better paying job recently. But unlike many minimum-wage workers in Cape Girardeau who move to different jobs in a short period of time, Coffman decided to keep what he had.

"I heard that Mr. B's was hiring for more than what I was making, but then I'd be starting over again, and I didn't want that," he said. "I can put whatever promotions I get here on my resume."

He also feels a sense of loyalty to his current employer. "They've done what they said they would so far, so I think I'll stick around and see how far I can go here," he said.

With a 7-month-old child, however, Coffman said he isn't going to turn down a job that would promise a better career.

"I'm responsible for a family, not just myself," he said. "I want my little boy growing up knowing that if you work hard for something, there will be rewards out there. My family never gave me anything without making me work for it. I think that's a good way to grow up."

His fiance works a minimum-wage job as a cashier at Stadium Food Plaza next to Houck Stadium.

"We're able to combine our pay and live in an apartment, but I'd like to be able to find a home I can call mine," he said.

So far there are no homes Coffman can find affordable.

"We found a house to rent for $500," he said. "If I'm going to be paying that much, I want to be paying for something I can own. So we'll keep the apartment for $185 rent and keep looking."