I shadowed the AHATA team for just one morning, to witnessed the 2020 minimal award ceremony version, inspired by Covi19.
We’ve enjoyed lavishly orchestrated banquets and award ceremonies in the past, this year it was just a modest gathering at a social distance, recognizing top performers with a photo opportunity, a monetary gift from Caribbean Mercantile Bank, a great-big pat on the back from peers, and a mimosa toast.
Members of AHATA conducted an internal process and came up with just one winner, one per member, man or woman who embody the sacrifices, perseverance and fast-thinking of a pandemic-era hero.
I looked at the names of the 29 winners, as far as I can tell, we have 14 women and 15 men, many of them immigrants to this country.
The men and women ratio is a huge improvement over past years, where women winners were rare and hard to find.
Most winners of this year’s award came from Loss Prevention, Security, Engineering and Hygiene, the frontrunners that had to deal with three months of lock down, preserving and protecting assets and later readying those assets for Covid19 protocols and procedures.
The winners, engineers, maintenance managers, security supervisors, earned the accolades by assuming personal responsibility for the assets entrusted to them, shutting operation down, remaining vigilant and proactive, then kick-starting again, keeping cost down and breakage low.
They were navigating uncharted courses, with determination and faith.
I heard some of them talk about their experiences and I can see the common thread, they all shared the praise they received with their team members, they love this island deeply and they believe in the magic of our tourist product, lastly, they are humble and grateful people.
The genuine wish to serve, combined with natural humility and an attitude of gratitude, produced this year’s crop of remarkable leaders.
Those I met were truly inspiring, they gave me goose bumps as they spoke about their jobs, that’s the highest form of compliment I can give.
Press release by AHATA
ORANJESTAD, Aruba – November 23, 2020: Each year, the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association (AHATA) organizes the AHATA Excellence Awards with a dinner event to honor exceptional employees within the tourism industry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elaborate award evening cannot take place this year. However, during a year where the tourism industry was devastated and needs a renewed commitment from one and all to rebuild, it is even more important to recognize the individuals that contributed extraordinarily during a crisis.
Many dedicated employees of Aruba’s tourism industry have continuously shown resilience, motivation, and productivity during the 2020 crisis and are contributing significantly to the recovery of Aruba’s tourism and economy. Consequently, AHATA is determined to recognize the extraordinary efforts of employees in the sector that are at the front line of the tourism industry recovery efforts. AHATA will be honoring these exemplary employees in the sector with the “AHATA Excellence in 2020 Awards”.
AHATA member companies had the opportunity to select one employee that stood out most during the crisis for their motivation, dedication, and productivity in the battle to overcome our economic crisis and lift the tourism industry back on its feet.
Honorees will be recognized individually between November 23rd and December 11th, 2020 by AHATA’s President and CEO Tisa LaSorte for their remarkable dedication in this challenging year and will receive a wonderful gift with the purpose to incentivize savings and help build financial reserves for a more secure future.
AHATA expresses gratitude to the Caribbean Mercantile Bank N.V. (CMB) for sponsoring this year’s award program and rewarding the employees at the front line of tourism recovery efforts.
Each honoree will be highlighted on AHATA’s social media pages during the upcoming weeks.
https://www.facebook.com/arubahotelandtourismassociation
