Friday, March 24

Age is just a number

News from Los Angeles: After working for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 76 years, Arthur Winston is celebrating his 100th birthday by retiring.
In the last 72 years, Winston has missed just one day of work, in 1988 when his wife died.

This got us to thinking about our own staff and how lucky we are also, to have such dedicated workers.

Papi started at The Reef Resort on February 9th, 2001. He is the beach attendant and with ours being one of the largest resort beaches on the island (1600ft) he takes pride in keeping it looking tidy and beautiful.



Papi is very dedicated. The other day he was having severe back pains but continued to work. Mr. Lawrence the Resort Manager really had to force him to take a day off and rest up. In all his years that was his first sick day. He’s 71 years of age (and looks great in a cowboy hat ;)


Ms. Barbara Forbes works for Housekeeping at The Reef and is very reliable. She can sometimes be heard muttering away as you walk past her, maybe this is the secret to success because she is always here when scheduled. She’s 64.

Vida Christian, one of our Housekeeping supervisors, also has a fantastic attitude to work. She’s 52 years of age going on 32 with boundless energy and good humour - Vida is totally dedicated to the keeping the resort clean and our guests happy.

Many employers these days are reluctant to hire individuals who are considered to be reaching the end of their careers - The Reef's policy is not to discriminate in any way and to employ people for their abilities and positive attributes - after all, age is just a number and besides, the three staff mentioned above would put many a 21 year old to shame!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, we remember Papi, a great guy with a smile and a song as he groomed the beach. Here's to Papi - may his back feel better and his song continue on for many years. Thanks Papi!

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, Papi... always the first one on the beach arranging the beach chairs so perfectly and lining them up and also turning them on their sides and patting the sand off of each one... And working hard all day raking the endless seaweed and keeping the beach so well groomed and clean. Always with a smile and a kind greeting..being it a "Mornin' Mam", or a "Hello", or a "Hot one today"... Such a friendly gentle, man. Here's to Papi! I hope his back feels better soon...and that he and his smile are there to brighten our Reef for years to come!

May God bless him...

Joann Rafalko

Anonymous said...

Here's to all of the Reef employees! There is no other place in this world we would rather visit. The hospitality, quality of care and the obvious love and dedication all of you show is outstanding!! Thank you for all you do. We will miss you this year but will return in '07!!! Go Papi, you make us smile!!!