South Shore CVA Honors R.O.S.E. And R.I.S.E. Award Winners At Dinner

The Ameristar Casino Hotel Ballroom in East Chicago was packed Wednesday evening with around 200 hospitality industry professionals who came to honor fifteen local winners of the R.O.S.E. and R.I.S.E. Awards presented by the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority. The R.O.S.E. selection committee whittled down the approximately 100 nominations to thirty one finalists, and ultimately fifteen winners.

To see more photos from the event, click here!

The Recognition of Service Excellence (R.O.S.E.) Awards were created to acknowledge and celebrate those non-managerial or hourly employees who exceed usual expectations when providing hospitality services to guests and customers. Those front-line employees who have made a lasting impression on guests are nominated for this award by either their managers or the guests themselves. Whether servers, front-desk clerks, housekeepers, bartenders or tour guides, these amazing employees have made the South Shore visitors’ experience that much better.

Speros A. Batistatos, President and CEO for the South Shore CVA hosted the event and announced the winners along with Dwayne Walker, owner of ChicagoLand Popcorn.

“The mission of the awards program is to honor those who serve customers on a daily basis,” said Walker. “Positively impacting the experience of guests along the South Shore is so important because I’ve found that sometimes, in our business, negative news spreads faster than positive news. When you’re on the front lines and you make a big impact in the way you treat the customers, what I’m starting to find out is, that word gets out.”

The Recognition of Industry Success and Excellence (R.I.S.E.) Award honors managerial employees and past R.O.S.E. winners who continually exceed expectations with guests and customers. These conscientious and caring employees exemplify what the region’s hospitality industry is truly about.

“The R.I.S.E. awards honors those who go above and beyond everyday in management or leadership roles,” Batistatos said. “This award is for those who have risen above expectations but they still must interact with customers on a regular basis or are a past R.O.S.E. winner. I’ve been so motivated hearing some of these stories and if you were a nominee and you didn’t win you are still exemplary at what you do.”

R.O.S.E. winners received a wooden cutting board with their name emblazoned on it as well as a gift basket filled with an incredible range of merchandise, sports and theatre tickets and gift cards worth over $700.

“I’m super excited!,” said R.O.S.E. Award winner Jane Gayheart from Shady Creek Winery. “I did not expect this at all. I’m amongst an elite group here and it’s been great!”

2015 R.O.S.E. Winners: Lenore Rodriguez, Jane Gayheart, Santino Cordilla, Fred Jurcak, Christopher Devenport, Janis Frysztak, Rosemary Kouloumbris, Charlene Koreen, Carmen Gomez, Victoria Caper, Vojo Duvnjak and Bruce Alston

2015 R.I.S.E Winners: Latasha Johnson, Tammy Hartrunft and Chuck Sanford

R.O.S.E. and R.I.S.E. nominations for front-line and managerial employees are accepted year-round at www.rose-awards.com