Gold Eagle Lodge and Gold Eagle Casino were honoured again for their dedication to professional development, this time from nationally certified tourism professionals from around Canada.
The 19th annual Tourism Professional Recognition Dinners were held June 11 in Saskatoon at the Sheraton Cavalier and June 13 at the Regina Inn.
Gold Eagle Lodge was recognized during the Regina ceremony as one of the nine Employers of Choice honourees for 2012. The Employer of Choice program is designed to assist tourism businesses across the province in attracting and retaining staff, with employers provided tools and resources to engage in best practises, increase staff training, improve human resources practises and be recognized as leaders in the sector.
Two of the three Ambassador Awards were handed out to recipients from Gold Eagle Lodge and Gold Eagle Casino. In the accommodations category, Kelly Panton of Gold Eagle Lodge, North Battleford received the honour. In the food and beverage services category, Kim Foulds of Gold Eagle Casino North Battleford was the recipient.
The ambassador awards are presented annually to outstanding certified professionals who demonstrate exemplary dedication to professional development in Saskatchewan's tourism sector. Awards are available for each of the five industries that comprise the tourism sector.
Several certification honorees were also given awards. Bartenders and food and beverage servers Sheila Knihnitski, Vanessa Smith and Bernadette Thomas received those honors at Gold Eagle Casino.
Knihnitski and Smith also received the 2012 Journeyperson honors, as did Jeremie Roussel.
Housekeeping attendant Debbie Mitchell and front desk and reservation agent Heather Schatz received certification honors for Gold Eagle Lodge. Guest service representatives Robbie-Lynn Gratton and Adam Thiessen also received journeyperson honors for Gold Eagle Lodge.
A number of businesses received 2012 Property Recognition awards for their commitment to staff development. Those honorees included Battlefords Tourism and Western Development Museum in North Battleford. Businesses that provided employers and managers with Service Best training included Battlefords Tourism, Creative Interiors by the Designer Gals, Gold Eagle Casino and Gold Eagle Lodge. Service Best businesses receive that recognition for making an extraordinary commitment to service excellence, training a minimum of 60 per cent frontline and managerial staff.
