Valerie Myaard-Martin has only worked at The Henry, Autograph Collection hotel in Dearborn for six months. Yet, she made enough of a mark early in her tenure to rate her nomination and then win as the Overall Service Champion in the 28th Visit Detroit Recognition of Service Excellence (ROSE) Awards held in late August at the Sound Board Theater in the MotorCity Casino Hotel.
The ROSE Awards are presented by Visit Detroit to recognize excellence in hospitality and service. More than 110,000 people in Detroit and surrounding areas of southeast Michigan hold jobs connected to hospitality and travel, with 134 honored at the ROSE Awards celebration that was attended by more than 500 industry professionals.
Myaard-Martin was nominated by The Henry General Manager John Lerchen, who described how she was working the front desk in June when a young guest experienced a medical emergency. She came out and began administering CPR as coworkers called 911 and paramedics were on their way.
“Valerie was witnessed saying, ‘Come on, baby, don’t do this to me!’ as she continued giving breaths and light chest compressions,” Lerchen wrote in Myaard-Martin’s ROSE Awards nomination form. “Valerie was able to get the boy breathing on his own and paramedics took over from there.”
Shortly after that event, Myaard-Martin was honored in a special ceremony attended by colleagues including hotel and corporate management as well as local police, who presented her with a Citizen’s Award for her efforts. “She approaches her job day in and day out [with a dedication to] how she can wow a guest—how she can go above and beyond,” Lerchen says.
Other ROSE Awards category winners included:
Volunteers: Sandra Stevenson, volunteer at The Parade Company, Detroit
Attractions and Casinos: Brittany Grams, logistics and administration specialist for Guest Services at The Henry Ford, Autograph Collection, Dearborn
Transportation: Connie Solimanto, customer service lead at Delta Air Lines
Restaurants: Cheryl Cusumano-Gadson, lead server at 200 West Lounge in the Detroit Marriott Troy, Troy
Behind the Scenes: Kendrick Ashford, guest services and security at Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit
Hotels: Michelle Kelley, events specialist at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Detroit
William F. McLaughlin Award for Service Excellence: House of Pure Vin, Detroit
Michelle Kelley, events specialist at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, says it was an honor to be recognized. In nominating her for the ROSE Awards, her colleagues described her as “the backbone” of the hotel’s event planning team.
“The main approach I take in my everyday work is ensuring I set everyone I work with up for success,” says Kelley, who has been at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center for about a year and a half. “Working in hotels is truly a team effort and your coworkers need to know they can always count on you to put forth your best work and to always have their backs.
“With event management in hotels, we touch every department, and so it’s vital I do everything in my power to build strong relationships internally that support me in creating memorable moments for our guests externally.”
