Time For Go-Go Juice! - Be Passionate With What You Do!

(Quietly spoken) Don’t you just love the rain? The soft pitter patters on the roof, windows, front porch…so serene. It is so nice right now as I type on my computer. Everyone is still asleep. No noise, no interruptions, no blaring TV – just the soft pitter patters of springtime and the wonderful aroma of Go-Go Juice. Good morning. You know, I was reflecting last night of how much I love my job working in hotels. Oh, that’s right – I’m still “working” getting back into one. From all my years of managing in the world of hospitality I have to share this with you … it’s not the paycheck (trust me). It’s the amazing accomplishments I’ve made, it’s an environment of clay ready to be molded into a piece of art, it building memories and it’s so rewarding from the relations I built. I was chatting with a former employee on Face Book – when I left my last hotel, everyone was dismayed. The hotel was not fairing very well after I was gone and of course combined with our devastating economy, it only got worse. But this former employee decided to take her cut hours and spend them wisely by going back to college to earn a degree in the medical field. She has faced so many challenges in doing this, yet she’s getting close to graduating. I’m so proud of her, you have no idea. She thanks me frequently for being her boss and how I made a difference when I was in charge. She reminded me of why I do what I do. In a hotel environment, one has so many opportunities to meet new people from all over the world and contribute to so many positive outcomes. I’ve met and served Queen Noor from Jordan on many occasions from working in Aspen. She does not come across as some staunchly political figure – she’s extremely pleasant, down to Earth – someone you might want to go play Tennis with. Esther Ferguson, wife of retired CEO of General Mills was a mentor and mother figure to me spending much quality time together. She once told me I had too much talent being wasted and that I should be making a six figure income (ok, so that helped me to like her even more, lol). As a general manager, I had a customer staying at my property who was doing a project for the police department. She was traveling alone and had made a comment that told me she could use “some company”. So I invited her to dinner one night. We spent hours talking about her deceased husband and showing me pictures of their participation and fond memories of being involved with the reenactments of the Civil War held yearly. We cried, we laughed – she was really cool. She sent me a wonderful gift of thanks for taking the time and such good care of her as her work involved grueling hours and lots of travels with her only companion, her dog. Another cool memory of mine involves dancing with an AMVET member. Those of you in hotels know what I’m referring to, but for those who do not, the AMVET is a group of members from WWII war – survivors and families of deceased veterans who served in the war. Now, most members are old – actually more likely ancient. The group stays a few nights, sometimes a week and displays all the memorabilia throughout the conference rooms and holds nightly events that end around 9pm. One evening I had an awesome country rock band playing in our bar, so I made an announcement to the AMVET members inviting them to join us for drinks and tunes. It was a push because most are too tired from the day’s events. They were all enjoying the music from their tables, so in the spirit of getting the “party started” I invited an older member to dance. He had to be at least 80 in years, had a dismembered arm and a huge smile on his face. He had absolutely no rhythm, but man, could he boogie! We laughed and had a great time. The group’s leader thanked me the next day for apparently being the best host they had ever had. So many stories I could share. But all in all, this is why I work in hotels – making memories for others, helping people, building relations and making money for the owners at the same time. It’s a great job! What do you like about your job? Or, are you unfortunately racing home to forget about it? Hmmm, just some food for thought. Well, Melissa is up and raring to go and I need a refill! Have an awesome weekend!