Giving Back - Linchris Hotel Corporation

The
Innsider
Summer/Fall 2011
25
A Newsletter by Linchris Hotel Corporation
Giving Back
Hotels for Hope
Behind the Scenes
For the third year in a row, employees and family members from
the Comfort Inn & Suites, St. Johnsbury, VT; Fairbanks
Inn, St. Johnsbury, VT and the Hampton Inn, Littleton, NH
participated in Vermont’s Caledonia County Relay for Life
event. The team, known as Hotels for Hope, walked through the
night in the memory of loved ones lost, survivors, co-workers
and family members currently fighting cancer. “This year was
particularly tough on the team,” said Brett Loehr, Area Director
of Operations. “We have several co-workers waging battles
against cancer. Each of them motivated us to keep up the fight.
In addition, by the time the event kicked off, we had at least three
inches of water under our tents. But cancer doesn’t take days off
because of bad weather and neither does Hotels for Hope. I was
extremely proud of our team and their commitment.”
Some special needs children from Mansfield High School
visited the Holiday Inn, Mansfield, MA to find out what
goes on “behind the scenes” at a hotel. The students were
taken on a grand tour of the hotel, lead by Nate Weare,
General Manager, and had a special stop in the kitchen,
where they visited with Marty O’Shea, Executive Chef
and Sammy Salguero, Assistant Chef and were treated to
a great lunch. The hotel works closely with programs such
as these in Mansfield and Foxboro, helping to find ways
for special needs students to become more productive
citizens that are comfortable in the workplace.
GMs Team Up
Thanks for the visit kids!
Sexy Strikes
This group photo shows
(l-r): Sara Woody, Catering
Manager; Claire King,
Executive Housekeeping;
Tricia Falco, Revenue
Manager and Victoria Rogers,
Sales Manager; posing with
the two representatives from
the Lackawanna Big Brothers
& Big Sisters Organization.
General Managers and Corporate Officers team up
with Habitat for Humanity during a recent GM
Conference in New Orleans.
The “Sexy Strikes” bowling team, consisting of several staff
members of the Hilton Hotel & Conference Center, Scranton,
PA, is proud to announce they recently raised $300 for the
Lackawanna Big Brothers & Big Sisters Organization.
The hotel team was recognized for raising the most money for the day.
T H E L I N C H R I S I N N S I D E R I S A P U B L I C AT I O N O F L I N C H R I S H O T E L C O R P O R AT I O N
269 Hanover Street, Unit #2 • Hanover MA 02339 • 781-826-8824 • www.linchris.com
A Message from Chris
This issue of the
Innsider has a special
focus. Many of the
stories we received
from our properties
for this issue either
focused on charity work that our
employees took part in for their
local communities, or they praised
some sort of extraordinary service
that was offered for our guests.
While extraordinary service for
our guests is always important
to note and applaud, I think the
extensive amount of charity work
that our team members commit
to on a regular basis must also be
recognized as a “key factor” in the
success of our business.
Without question, our success – at
every location – very much depends
on the support we receive from the
local communities where we do
business. It is essential for our hotels
to embrace a sense of charity by
“giving back” to the communities
that help us thrive. This is not just
about giving money to worthy
charities (although that is obviously
very important), it includes the
giving of “time” to worthy causes
as well.
You will see in this issue the many
ways in which our employees are
committing their own personal time
to “lend a hand” to those in need.
I appreciate and applaud these
members of our team for embracing
the spirit of giving by taking part
in such charitable initiatives and
encourage all employees to do
the same.
SERVICE with a Smile
Celebrating Service Week
During the week
of June 20th,
management of
the Holiday Inn,
Brookline, MA
celebrated service
week with the
employees by
thanking them for
Shown here are (l-r): Ingrid Johnson, Houskeeping; Monita Belizaire,
Houskeeping; Glen Vuilleumier, General Manager; Ismaille Vilcaint,
the service that each
Houskeeping; Jacueline Romain, Houskeeping; Marie Limoze,
provides every day
Houskeeping; and Osman Hashi, Engineering.
to make the hotel a
great place for guests to stay. “We kicked off the week on Monday with a welcome
breakfast featuring myself as the guest chef on the omelet station,” said Glen
Vuilleumier, General Manager. Tuesday was International Day, while Wednesday
featured a carnival with themed food, games and a visit from a Ringling Brothers
clown. Thursday featured a Wii Olympic Bowling Event in which F&B received
a catered lunch for beating out the front desk in the finals. The week concluded
on Friday with a pizza party and some great raffle prizes. It truly was a weeklong
celebration of a great team!
Saving A Life
Bethann Moulaison, Night Auditor of the
Hampton Inn, Revere, MA has gone above
and beyond the call of duty. Bethann had a
female guest (a flight attendant) come to the
front desk complaining of stomach issues and
she immediately arranged for transportation to
the local hospital. When the guest arrived at the
hospital she was told that it was too busy and
Bethann Moulaison (left), Night Auditor,
is shown here with Chavonne Henderson they would not be able to see her and sent her
(center), Morning Supervisor, and Cathy back to the hotel. When the guest arrived back
Cucchiello, Assistant General Manager. at the hotel, Bethann could tell that she needed
immediate medical attention and called an ambulance, despite the guest’s requests
not to. The woman ended up having emergency gall bladder surgery.
Outstanding Job Bethann!
21st Century Training
Here (l-r): Samantha Keefe, Front
Desk Agent/Training Coordinator,
joins Thomas Perron, Director of
Food and Beverage, and Paula
Pollard, Banquet Server, to review
some new training material on the
iPad Travelers Reward
Training Program.
The DoubleTree, Milford, MA is using an iPad as part of its
onsite training program.
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Promoting from Within…
Welcome Aboard!
Recognizing a Loyal Employee
Shown here, Kelly
joins the staff for
a group photo
(back row, l-r):
Marlise Lobo,
Michael Flaherty,
Lorensa Fontes,
Jason Allan, Clay Walsh, Melissa Robison, Kelly Lajoie,
Katelyn Greene, (front row. l-r): Fransisca DaGraca, Sandra
Loz Goncalves, Nadia Alves, Carrie Radcliffe, Kathleen Beard,
Maura Flaherty and Susie Long.
Shown here, are (l-r, back row): Shannon McNamee, Acountant; Stephanie
Campbell, Administrative Assistant; Glenn Gistis, Chief Financial Officer; Theresa
Burkhardt, Accountant; Alan Zhu, Accountant; (bottom): Janine Hodge, Assistant
Corporate Controller; and Lori Mabb, Accountant.
Linchris Hotel Corporation announces the promotion of Janine
Hodge to Assistant Corporate Controller and welcomes Alan Zhu
as a new Linchris Accountant. Janine has been with the company for
13 years, most recently holding the title of Accountant for the corporate
office. She also held the positions of Administrative Assistant and
Manager of the Park View Inn, an independent property once managed
by Linchris in Norwell, MA. Prior to joining Linchris, Janine worked as
a Marketing Budget Assistant for Colonial Management Funds.
“Janine has been a valuable member of our team since 1998,” said
Glenn Gistis, Chief Financial Officer. “She brings a great attitude
with excellent accounting knowledge and skills to this position. In her
new role, Janine is responsible for overseeing hotel internal audits,
cash management, financial statement and payroll review, year end tax
preparation and budgets. We wish Janine the best in her new position.”
This group photo shows
(l-r): Jesse Clayton, Front
Desk Agent; Chrissy
Richardson; Stella Czamicki,
Kelly Lajoie returns to Linchris Hotel Corporation
as the General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn,
Plymouth, MA. Kelly was a former General Manager
for our Holiday Inn, Salem, NH, Concord, NH and
Weirton, WV hotels. She also held the titles of Regional
Director of Operations for four full-service franchised
properties and Sales and Marketing for two limited
service franchised properties. Kelly’s most recent
position was as Director of Operations of the Gateway
Hotel and Conference Center and Gateway Extended
Stay in Hickory, NC.
Shown here, Janet Daugherty
(right) poses for a photo with
two of her Front Desk Associates,
Jewel Jones (left) and Bob
Richardson (center).
Janet Daugherty also returns to the Linchris family as
the Innkeeper of the Ocean Park Inn, Eastham, MA
for the 2011 summer season. She has previously worked
at the Four Points, also in Eastham, in all areas including
front desk, sales, food and beverage and held the title
of Front Office Manager before moving to Seattle to be
closer to her family. She most recently worked as the
Front Office Manager at the Seattle Renaissance and the
Embassy Suites in Bellevue.
Welcome back Kelly and Janet!
Front Desk Agent and Dave
Correll, Director of Sales.
Christine Richardson was promoted to Front Office Manager of the
Best Western Plus Inn & Suites, Rutland, VT. She previously held the
title of Front Desk Agent at our sister property: The Holiday Inn Express,
Springfield, VT.
Get Well Soon...
Sandy Greene, Corporate Controller and 20-year
Linchris employee based in the Hanover office, has
recently taken a medical leave of absence.
We all wish Sandy a speedy recovery.
Anwar Issa (center)
is shown here with
Front Desk Agents
Ozlem Gursoy (left)
and David Jaramillo
(right).
Anwar Issa was named General Manager of the Best
Western Terrace Inn, Boston, MA in May. Formerly,
Anwar held the titles of General Manager of a hotel in
Bedford, MA, Front Office Manager of Hilton Hotel in
Woburn, MA and Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH, and
Director of Rooms at the Radisson Hotel in Rockland,
MA. Prior to relocating to USA, Anwar worked as a
General Manager in Jordan for 4 years.
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The Stork Report
Congratulations to
Amanda Kostopoulos,
Guest Service
Representative of the
Holiday Inn, Manchester,
NH who gave birth to her
first child, Alize Yvonne
Ross on May 28th at
2:55pm. Alize weighed
in at 6.1 pounds and was
18” long.
Congratulations also go out to
Yessica Rodriguez, Front Desk
Associate of the Holiday Inn,
Salem, NH also gave birth to a
baby girl. Yemibel Nivar and was
born on June 9th weighing in at 7
pounds, 3 ounces.
Congratulations
also go out to
Luis Lopez,
Housekeeping
Supervisor of
the Hampton
Inn, Revere,
MA! His wife,
Teresa, gave
birth to a baby girl, Arielys Cristina Lopez, on May
24th. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was
20-1/2” long.
In Memory of Vernell Smalls
The employees of the
Hampton Inn, Revere,
MA and the entire staff
of the Linchris Hotel
Corporation would like to
recognize Vernell Smalls,
who passed away on June
2nd. Vernell worked as
the Laundry Supervisor
for the Hampton Inn for seven years and according
to Nicholas Pancoast, General Manager, was an
exceptional employee. “This is a devastating loss
for all of her co-workers,” he said. “Vernell not only
kept the laundry room running smoothly, but she
always had a smile on her face. She will be missed
by all at the hotel.”
INN the News
And the Biggest Loser is...Denise Stoddert, Accountant, from the
Hampton Inn, Colchester, VT!
What started out as a vision of Mckenna Tatro,
Assistant Front Office Manager of the Hampton
Inn, Colchester, VT quickly morphed into a friendly
competition between four Linchris Hotels in northern
New Hampshire and Vermont. Each hotel formed
teams of employees with a focus on improving their
overall health. Congratulations go to the Hampton Inn,
Colchester team for winning the competition, especially
Denise Stoddert, Accountant, who brought home the title of Biggest Loser by
losing 29.2 pounds and 13.28% body fat. Way to go!
“Combined the four hotels lost almost 500 pounds,” said Brett Loehr,
Area Director of Operations. “Truth be told, everyone that participated
was a winner. We had
employees quit smoking,
start exercising and eat
healthy on a regular
basis and we owe it all to
Mckenna for providing
the inspiration. We’re
already looking forward
to doing it again next
year.”
On June 15th members representing all four hotels rode the Mt. Washington
Cog to the mountain’s summit where the winners’ names were announced.
Jean Silva, Cook for the
Holiday Inn, Rockland,
MA was featured in a
two-page article in the
May/June issue of Hotel
F & B Magazine. The
article highlights Jean’s
fruit carving capabilities
and the competitive edge
his creations provide the
property as an impressive “value-add” for guests. A master in the art of fruit
carvings, Jean teaches a class on the art form and has his own fruit carving
business. He was featured in the Summer/Fall 2010 issue of the Innsider,
pointing out that he is recognized by the media on a regular basis and his
creations are showpieces for banquets and meetings at the hotel.
Talk about going above and beyond!
During the weekend of June 3rd, Best
Western Plus Inn & Suites, Rutland, VT
had a visit from the “Sassy Chicks, Red Hat
Society Ladies,” a national organization
of women who like to wear red hats and
encourage social interaction among women.
They encourage fun, friendship, freedom,
fulfillment and fitness.
Here, the Housekeeping team joins the Red Hat Ladies for a photo
(bottom row, l-r): Katelyn Bania; Sassy Chick Josie Carroll; Brook Griswald;
(top row, l-r) : Sassy Chicks Cayleen Eddings; Christine Griffin and (third row):
Tammy Wortman.
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