Couples’ pioneer workers honoured – Joey lauds staff for extraordinary loyalty and devotion to duty

by

Couples’ pioneer workers honoured – Joey lauds staff for extraordinary loyalty and devotion to duty Praise was heaped on nearly 30 employees who have served Couples Hotel, Tower Isle, for the 15 years of its existence. The employees stood tall at the hotel’s 15 th birthday bash on the lawns of Couples, one of the five SuperClubs resorts in Jamaica, Wednesday.

General manager Joey Issa lauded the hotel staff for “exemplary, extraordinary loyalty and devotion to duty.”

Praise also came from Prime Minister P.J. Patterson who said the hotel had to continue its tradition of service and that he had met several of the guests who had come back to Couples several times, noting that the repeat business was a part of the formula for success. Chairman of Couples, John Issa also praised the staff in general and spoke about the record of Couples’ achievements. Couples is completing a week of celebrations surrounding the 15th anniversary. And man of the moment was pantry chef, 63year-old Simeon Weir, a 43-year veteran of both Couples and its predecessor, the grand Tower Isle Hotel.

Mr. Weir has been on the property since 1949, when Tower Isle first opened for business. He has never worked anywhere else.

And Mr. Issa praised him very richly not only for his longevity at Couples, but also for being “the very epitome of what true loyalty and exemplary professionalism in the truest tradition is all about.”

Mr. Issa added: “We all salute this dedicated, warm-hearted co-worker. He’s made us all very proud, over the years!”

The general manager had high praise for his other 27 long-serving employees, too.

“To us at Couples, you’re all solid gold,” he told them. “You’ve all contributed extensively to what Couples have achieved – formidable recognition in the world marketplace as a first – class resort.

“I thank you all.”

The other 27 long-serving employees honoured were: Grehen Caiden, reservation manager; telephone operator, Hubert Mortimer; Sanitation Department workers, Pastley Martin and Agustus Williams; Godfrey Sinclair, from the bell desk; Esmilyn Waylor-Williams, Yvonne Russell-Bishop, Jennifer Gordon, Lorna Williams, Estria Richards, Owen Pottinger and Lenworth Laing, all from the housekeeping department; the assistant sous chef, Eric Black; Dewar Davis, Devon Thomas and Lincoln Matthews, from the kitchen; the food service manager, Lennox Lofters; dining room supervisors, Althea Brown-Farrell and Denzil Thompson.

Glenroy McIntosh, Byron Wynter and Joseph Stephens, from the grounds department; maintenance supervisors, Ronald Barrett; financial controller, Doreen Fox; chief engineer, Lloyd Parris, and electrician, Mr. Winston Baxter, were also honoured.