® Since 1917 The Standard Spring 2014 Current and past E Award winners with Gerry Gabrys and Jeff Marquis (L-R) Beth Rogers, Susan Pourian, Alysha Lang-Lum, Michael Szyjka, Paulette Lassiter, Judith Aist-Dvorak, Barbara Hocker, Danielle Verderosa, Taufiq Anwar THE GUEST SERVICES E AWARD FOR 2013 In October of every year, the president of Guest Services chooses speak with a remarkable depth of knowledge. Congratulations, the winner of the annual E Award, the highest award a Guest Mike and welcome to a very exclusive club! Services employee can earn. In 2013, the very difficult decision was made by Jeff Marquis from a field of four outstanding The three additional nominees also possess extraordinary nominees, each of whom exemplified the qualities stated in the attributes: award criteria. Melanie Jones, district manager in the Operations Division, has The winner of the 2013 E Award is Michael Szyjka, manager been with Guest Services for 11 years. She leads by example, of the production salad room at Lancaster Foods. Mike joined is compassionate and optimistic, and serves as a thoughtful Lancaster in 2010, and was instrumental in planning the salad mentor to her management team. Her creative spark inspires room enhancements that will increase output capability by 30 her team to reach for greater heights of productivity, innovative percent, while working within the existing space limitations. ways to achieve cost savings, and new levels of culinary When it comes to salad production and processing, Mike is excellence. Melanie’s kind and personable nature have earned the acknowledged expert; he has trained all levels of staff on her the regard and respect of her clients and colleagues alike. processing procedures for every single salad item Lancaster carries, and leads all customer tours because of his ability to Continued on page 3. 2 CEO’s Corner 6 NRO Awarded 2013 Q Award 2 Celebrating Earth Day 7 Going The Extra Mile In This 3 Workplace Giving Program Grows 8 Winning QA - What Does It Take? 4 25 Year Club Marks 25 Years 11 Testimonials Issue 5 Hilton CEO Light & Warmth Award 14 Employee Anniversaries 5 Fifth Annual Food Show 1 CEO’s CORNER This issue of The Standard provides us with an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of our many outstanding employees. Congratulations to Michael Szyika, who joined an elite group of E Award recipients pictured on the front page. Michael and the other current year nominees, Melanie Jones, Oscar Rodriguez and Melinda Simpson, are all major contributors to the success of Guest Services. The article on page four highlights another special group of employees – our 117 members of the 25 Year Club. I am proud of many things about Guest Services, but most of all the service and dedication of our many long term employees. Throughout the remainder of this issue are tributes to a large number of Quality Assurance Award winners and mention of a special award to Desiree Dayhoff presented by Hilton Hotels. I am grateful every day for our very special employees throughout the company. There has been much good news in the past months: We retained our contract to operate at Mount Rainier National Park, and last summer we purchased The Lodge at Breckenridge, in Breckenridge, Colorado. We also will be operating The Inn at Wise (Virginia) upon its re-opening scheduled for late this year. The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples won its 10th Connie Award (an unprecedented honor). This is an amazing accomplishment by Jennifer Robbins Wallace and her team at the DoubleTree. It goes without saying that none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the hard work of all of you. As always, I thank you for your loyalty and dedication, and for the integrity with which you represent Guest Services. Guest Services Celebrates Earth Day! Guest Services employees, family and friends cleaned The Hospitality Division cleaned the beach in Naples, Florida in April, Jones Point Park in Alexandria, Virginia on April 19, 2014, also in celebration of Earth Day. in celebration of Earth Day. 2 Gerry Gabrys and Jeff Marquis with 2013 Jeff Marquis and Gerry Gabrys with Michael Szyjka (c) and E-Award E-Award winner Michael Szyjka nominees (L-R) Melanie Jones, Melinda Simpson and Oscar Rodriguez Oscar Rodriguez is the general manager at Boeing (NRO), year after year, with a new team each season. She has been the where he consistently receives praise from his client, customers catalyst in embracing the “How’s My Hospitality” program, which and employees. He joined Guest Services in 2009, and has been has led the Mount Rainier team to win numerous awards and a mainstay of the Government and Military Division ever since. serve as a shining example of the program. Operating under a very strict set of security guidelines, Oscar has, nevertheless, achieved the highest Quality Assurance score in the The criteria for the E Award are stringent: Creativity, Initiative, history of the program at 97 percent. Leadership, Client Relations, Employee Relations, Financial Performance Expertise and Ability to Perform Under Pressure. Melinda Simpson is director of operations at Mount Rainier Each and every one of the 2013 nominees exhibits these National Park. Since her return to Guest Services in 2007, she outstanding characteristics; they all serve as inspiration to their has been driven to improve service and deliver the “Legendary peers and employees, and shining examples of the integrity with Hospitality” for which the company is famous. It is Melinda who which Guest Services conducts business. opens and closes the Paradise Inn and Jackson Visitor Center GUEST SERVICES WORKPLACE GIVING PROGRAM GROWS YEAR AFTER YEAR It’s official – Guest Services employees are more charitable than ever before! Thanks to the generosity of Guest Services employees, financial donations to our Workplace Giving Program have increased for the fourth year in a row: in 2014, 167 employees have pledged to donate more than $17,000 to our charitable partners. Our Workplace Giving Program was rolled out with the 2011 Open Enrollment in the fall of 2010. It was created to provide Guest Services employees with a simple way to contribute to a Vice president of Human Resouces, Rich Hirsh, and Natalie Sieger wide selection of charities that make the world a better place. with a BIG check from generous Guest Services employees. The participating 13 non-profit organizations cover many critical issues such as cancer, diabetes, natural disaster relief, animal welfare, the environment, hunger, life-end wishes, education, and recovery from war. Guest Services employees have the option to donate money through payroll deduction, volunteer time, or even give a part of themselves: blood. In 2011, GSI employees contributed $4,827 and more than doubled their efforts in 2012, giving $10,007. We closed out 2013 with $13,985. 3 Back Row (L-R): Frances Burton, Mercedes Rivas, Constantine Whidbee, Mary Parker, Delia Johnson, Mardine Graham Front Row (L-R): Tommie Dorsey, Sissie Wallace, Denise Edwards, Cynthia Thomas 25 YEAR CLUB MARKS 25 YEARS The Guest Services Twenty-Five Year Club honors those Graham, Cleveland Hooper, Jr., Della Roscinia Johnson, Vicki employees with 25 or more years of service, and 2013 marked Long, Mary Parker, David Perry, Mercedes Rivas, Cynthia the Silver Anniversary (25 years) that the Twenty-Five Year Club Thomas, Sissie Wallace and Constantine Whidbee. has been paying tribute to this exclusive group of employees. Congratulations to all of these outstanding employees; it is with Indigo Landing was the scene of the Silver Anniversary Dinner, gratitude for your loyalty that we salute you! and guests arrived to find the restaurant beautifully decorated in a silver anniversary theme. They were greeted by Gerry Gabrys, Jeff Marquis and the Guest Services executive team, and serenaded by live music throughout the evening. The menu included a bountiful array of displayed and passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a Bibb Wedge Salad and a choice of entrées: Pan-Seared Grouper with Crab, Sautéed Orange Chicken Breast, Smoked Sea Salt and Herb Crusted Filet Mignon, or Pappardelle Pasta with Vegetarian-Style “Bolognaise.” Dessert was a delectable Strawberry Shortcake. As of July 2013, the Twenty-Five Year Club included 117 members with a minimum of 25 years of service to the company; Guest Services is fortunate that many of these employees count their years with us in much greater numbers. The newest members include Frances Burton, Wayne Culley, Tommie Dorsey, Denise Edwards, Tina Evans, Cindy Fincham, Rhonda Gorham, Mardine 4 DESIREE DAYHOFF WINS HILTON’S CEO LIGHT & WARMTH AWARD FOR 2014 Congratulations to Desiree Dayhoff, operations manager at the Desiree is an inspiration to all who work with her; her attitude DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples, for winning the CEO Light gives new and deeper meaning to the word “hospitality.” & Warmth Award, the Hilton Family Brand’s highest individual Congratulations, Desiree! recognition. This prestigious award spotlights exceptional performance that consistently exceeds expectations and embodies shared Hilton values. Desiree was chosen out of 310,000 Hilton Family Brand employees worldwide for this great distinction. A natural humanitarian, Desiree draws on her own experiences to inspire her co-workers and change lives. Since emigrating to the U.S. from Cuba in 2006 and joining the team at the DoubleTree, she has dedicated herself to helping fellow refugees on their journey to American citizenship; leading by example, she, herself, became a citizen in February 2012. Desiree tutors her co-workers in life skills such as English and finance, and prepares them for their citizenship exams with coaching and quizzes; many of her co-workers have earned their citizenship, and seven have bought homes. She has served as co-chair of the Collier (County) Refugee Advisory Panel and was a state representative at the First National Refugee Congress in Desiree Dayhoff with Hilton’s CEO Washington, D.C.