After being suspended for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa‟s annual Prestige awards returned with major fanfare and pomp as the resort recognized team members for their outstanding work and contributions.
The Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory inspired event under the theme “Resilience and determination, greatness never quits,” was hosted by ABS television personalities Steve „Ibis‟ Freeland and Ercil Charles Jr with special guest appearances by public figure Renee Ambrose, and Sandals Pearl guests William and Carol Wharton who presented the joint award for Legendary Team member of the year to Charity Henry from the entertainment department and Jovel Ramilo from the Kitchen.
With 15 other awards up for grabs, the Mover and Shaker (Most Improved) Award went to Dillon Watson from the Kitchen department, the Circle of Joy (Smile) Award that was won by Lennox Northe of Watersports, the Heart of the House (Hotel Manager‟s) Award went to Alberto Jarvis from Stewarding while Nurse Angelina Boyd copped the Pacesetter (General Manager‟s) Award to a resounding round of applause and standing ovation from the ceremony attendees.
The Sandals Earth Guardian award was presented to Brentol Bristol of Landscaping and the Sandals Foundation Sentinel Award to Kavel Davis from the Food and Beverage Department. Marisa Lynch from the Accounts Department took home the Standing Ovation (Financial Controller‟s) Award while Kim Johnson from the resort shop won the Money Maker (Revenue Earner‟s) Award.
The highly anticipated People‟s Choice Award voted on by team members went to Butler Wendel Richards and Gem Ferris from the Island Routes tour desk walked away with the Island Routes Ambassador Award.
The All Rounder of the Year (Supervisor) Award was won by Samantha Grigg from the Kitchen and the MVP (Manager of the Year) Award was won by Stewarding Manager Hewson Burke. Rooms Division-Housekeeping walked away with the A-Team (Department of the Year) Award while the top two awards of the night- the Platinum Team Member Award was presented to Valyn Grannum of the Sales department and the Diamond Team Member Award presented to Umrao Parmanan of Food and Beverage.
“I am excited and humbled to be recognized by Sandals for this award. It is further motivation for not only me but other team members to achieve, inspire and lead,” said Platinum Team Member award winner Valyn Grannum.
Diamond Team Member winner Umrao Parmanan added, “I would like to acknowledge God for allowing me to achieve this milestone and the congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for their support. Staying focused, dedicated and consistent is key when working within a dynamic company like Sandals. The opportunities afforded are endless and I am happy to be the recipient of tonight‟s most coveted award. I would not have thought that I could win this award, but I proved myself wrong and it is inspiring.”
Sandals General Manager Matthew Cornall echoed the sentiments shared by the winners and said, “Seeing the excitement and support in the room as we recognized our hard-working team members and managers after two years of not being able to do so in this manner, is an exciting feeling. Our team members have done a phenomenal job by ensuring our guest expectations are met and consistently at high standards daily. We take pride in celebrating them as a company and I am happy that we were able to pull off the event this year as we slowly return to some level of normalcy within our resorts team member activities.”
The event did not fall short of entertainment value and saw the crazed 360 photobooth and electrifying performances from team members including Charity Henry, Junelia James, Rashid Walker, Leon Norville and Lennard „Young Lyrics‟ Henry.
The management team also treated ceremony attendees to a highly anticipated manager‟s dance performance that left the crowd raving for an encore.
