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Radisson Names 2004 Employees of the Year
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Carol Wade And Harold 'Rudy' Maduro Are Named Radisson Hotels & Resorts Employees Of The Year For North America
Housekeeping Supervisor at the Radisson Detroit-Bloomfield Hills and Assistant Food & Beverage Supervisor at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino Selected as the Best of the Best
Radisson Hotels & Resorts has named Carol Wade, a 33-year employee of the housekeeping team at the Radisson Detroit- Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; and Harold (Rudy) Maduro, a 17-year food and beverage employee of the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino on Palm Beach, Aruba, as its 2004 Employees of the Year for North America.
The awards were presented to Wade and Maduro by Jay Witzel, president and chief executive officer of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Radisson's parent hotel group; Bjørn Gullaksen, executive vice president and brand leader for Radisson Hotels & Resorts; and Bob Fox, vice president of Human Resources for Carlson Hotels Worldwide, during the Carlson Hotels Worldwide Annual Business Conference in Orlando, Fla. The company's corporate leaders, hotel managers and partners from throughout the Americas and Europe were in attendance.
Carol Wade
Carol Wade began at the hotel as a Room Attendant in 1972 and was then promoted to Housekeeping Supervisor in 1987. According to the hotel's General Manager Mike Harrison, Wade is dedicated, hard working and outgoing, and has exceptional guest service skills. She has never missed a day of work in over 32 years.
Harrison says Wade embodies what every associate should strive to be. She leads by example. Guests, owners, vendors and corporate staff all love and remember her due to her warm and caring personality. Last year, she helped Harrison come to the aid of a mother and young son whose car was involved in a collision with a drunk driver. Harrison and Wade stopped traffic, offered the family assistance and had the hotel call 911 for help. Once officials deemed the family was okay, Wade and Harrison invited them to come into the hotel to get water and rest. The husband of the woman, whose car was hit, was so grateful about how the hotel treated his family after the crash that he called and thanked them and said he would forever be loyal to the hotel and the Radisson brand.
On another occasion, following a major snowstorm, many of the cars in the parking lot became trapped and coated with ice and snow. The cars included Harrison's car, as he had recently relocated to the city to manage the hotel and lived on-site at that time. The next morning he was amazed to see that all of the snow was cleared away and the cars were cleaned in the parking lot. Upon questioning an employee he learned that Wade had cleared away the snow and did not say a word. Her co-worker said Wade just has a passion for helping people. Another time, she helped a guest who had his luggage lost by an airline and had no clothes or toiletries with him and had an important meeting the next morning. She quickly took it upon herself to create a small "amenity kit" for him with snacks and grooming supplies and had it delivered to his room. She also washed and pressed all of the guest's clothes, so he would have a neat appearance for his meeting. He was very appreciative and left a substantial tip.
Harold "Rudy" Maduro
"Rudy" Maduro began his career at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino in 1987 as a waiter. He then advanced to the position of Food & Beverage captain in 1989 and was promoted to his current position as the Assistant Food & Beverage Supervisor in 1991.
According to Jeffrey Lesker, Vice President of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Managed Resorts and General Manager of the property, Maduro possesses many of the characteristics that form the foundation of Carlson's unique hospitality culture and has talents of a high achiever. Lesker said Maduro is always fully engaged and passionate about his work. He consistently puts the needs of his co-workers and guests ahead of his own. He has been a mentor to many new employees, especially those who are in need of a role model or trying to improve their standard of living.
He is proud of his culture. He frequently makes time to teach Papiamento (native Aruban language) to guests that show interest and find this experience enriching. After work, he also has taken guests on island tours for which he does not charge, to share the sights of the island and its diverse culture. He also shares his pride in the Aruban culture and his great cooking skills by preparing traditional Aruban food with his co-workers.
During the visit of a Russian group, they expressed interest in trying fish prepared "Aruban style." He came in the next day with fish that he caught and prepared. The guests could not believe that he took the time to go fishing and prepare a delicious meal for them.
According to Witzel and Gullaksen, Wade and Maduro earned this honor not only for their consistent, outstanding performance and loyalty but their positive leadership and exemplary demonstration of the Radisson "Yes I Can!" service culture.
They noted that these two outstanding supervisors truly demonstrate the hotel group's corporate mission to deliver great hospitality built on great relationships, committed to creating meaningful and positive experiences for guests and other employees.
The Employee of the Year awards are presented annually to the Radisson employee who exemplifies the "best of the best" when it comes to customer service and teamwork. The winner is chosen from hundreds of nomination letters submitted by hotel managers, employees and guests from more than 47,000 hotel employees in North America.
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Date Listed: 2005-04-28
More news about:
 Industry: Hotel
Category: Awards
Radisson
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