Marriott honoured ten associates out of a worldwide workforce of 143,000 with the J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence at a gala held last night in Washington, D.C. Marriott recognizes Award of Excellence Honorees

This prestigious award was established in 1987 as a lasting tribute to the company’s founder J. Willard Marriott and his ideals of achievement, character, dedication, effort and perseverance. Marriott also announced the recipient of the Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service, named after the company’s co-founder, as well as the J.W. Marriott, Jr. Diversity Excellence Award, named after the company’s chairman.

More than 350 hourly and managerial associates were nominated this year by their supervisors and peers for their commitment to excellence, their teamwork and for being outstanding ambassadors of Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve Our Guests” initiative, ensuring that each customer is given first-class, personalized service at every level of contact. A committee representing Marriott’s senior management selected the following honorees:

—Edward B. Adu, Loss Prevention Officer, New York Midtown, East Courtyard, New York, N.Y. 

—Josephine Sneah, Director of Housekeeping, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong,

—Jackie Blake, Executive Housekeeper, General Manager,  Residence Inn Boulder, Boulder, Colo.               

—Abid Talic, SpringHill Suites, West Des Moines, West Des Moines, Iowa

—Lia Rozenhart, Guest Relations, Representative, Marriott Desert Springs Villas (MVCI), Palm Desert, Calif.

—Donna Terrazas, At Your Service Supervisor, Amsterdam Marriott, Amsterdam, Netherlands          

—Anne Saenz, Lead Server, San Diego Marriott Hotel, San Diego, Calif                  

—George Waldon, Kitchen Supervisor, Renaissance Cleveland Hotel,  Cleveland, Ohio

—Maria Jose Santos, Door Person, Renaissance Sao Paulo Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil              

—Mohammad Zolfagharian, Room Service Server, Calgary Marriott Calgary, Alberta Canada

This year’s Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service was presented to the New York Marriott Marquis. The hotel is being recognized for its associate’s community volunteerism with organizations and programs including the United Way, New York Cares, the American Red Cross, as well as providing leadership through board service to organizations such as YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities. Since 1992, the Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service has recognized a company facility and its employees for continuing the commitment of both co-founders to help improve the lives of others through the gift of energy, time and resources.

The J.W. Marriott, Jr. Diversity Excellence Award will be presented to the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter and Riverwalk Hotels. Taking their lead from Marriott’s long-standing philosophy of inclusion and diversity education, members of the hotel’s leadership team elevated their focus on diversity to new heights, including taking a proactive approach to meet the expectations of diverse customers. The hotels have experienced improvements in workforce diversity and participation from their associates on community cultural boards and committees. The award was established last year to recognize a business unit or corporate department that demonstrates excellence in promoting Marriott’s long-standing commitment to diversity and building an environment of inclusion for all.
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