Sandals' first employee inducted into hall of fame
published: Thursday | October 9, 2003

By Denise Clarke, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE VERY first employee of the Sandals Resorts hotel chain was among three individuals who were inducted into the Sandals Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Robert 'Daddy' Stone was honoured during the 10th 'Annual Ultra Awards' ceremony at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort on Friday night. Mr. Stone joined the hotel as a maitre'd in 1981 when the first hotel, Sandals Montego Bay, opened its doors, and is now director of services at the resort.

The other two inductees were the managing director of Sandals Resorts International, Merrick Fray, who has also been with the group since its inception, and Jim Proctor, vice-president of product development at Air Canada Vacations.

AWARD

The awards ceremony saw Air Jamaica Vacations snatching six awards, including third place in both the 'World's Top Producer' and 'Top Producing Wholesaler' categories. However, the big winner for the evening was the United States-based travel tour company Go-Go Worldwide, which for the tenth consecutive year walked away with the highest award - 'World's Top Producer'.

Go-Go also placed first in the 'Top Producing Wholesaler' category, and received five awards in the 'Top Suite Seller per Resort' section, and two awards in the 'Top Yield Performance per Resort' category. All the awards were based on dollar sales volume divided by room nights for arrivals from August 1, 2002 to July 31, 2003.

"This is just for the tour operators who week in week out help us to grow from strength to strength," said Sandals chairman, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart.

TRAVEL INDUSTRY

Bob Sullivan, vice-president and publisher of Travel Weekly in the United States, congratulated the winning tour operators and paid tribute to the Sandals Group for its contribution to the travel industry.

"Considering the times in the travel industry and the challenges that we've all faced, two things are absolutely constant, having great relationships and having great partners and there is no better partner than Sandals and Beaches and Mr. Butch Stewart," said Mr. Sullivan.

The Sandals Hall of Fame was established in 1998. Its inductees include companies and individuals who, in the group's opinion, have made a significant contribution to Caribbean tourism. The Ultra Awards is an annual event which recognizes tour operators for their contribution to the group's success.

The Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands James Poston and Chief Minister Michael Misick attended the ceremony.

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