The SSCVA Gives Recognition to ROSE and RISE Winners

The SSCVA Gives Recognition to ROSE and RISE Winners

Avalon Manor was the place to be on Wednesday night. It was the setting for the 8th annual ROSE Awards, and hardworking individuals in the region got the recognition that they deserved.

The evening began with mingling and cocktails. The finalists were fresh and radiant as they just came in, via Epic Limo, from being pampered at State of Mind Salon and Day Spa in Crown Point. Nealy 100 people were nominated for these great awards but it was narrowed down to only 15 lucky people. 

Dinner was served to guests and everyone chatted in anticipation as they tried to guess who the winners of these special awards would be. Speros A. Batistatos, president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (SSCVA), was the MC for the night along with Gerry Dick, host and creator of Inside Indiana Business. Together they announced the winners.

"To me this is the high point of the year in what we do," Batistatos said. "We get to tell stories about our employees who go above and beyond and give them the recognition that they deserve. When a customer comes to town they don't see us, they see and interact with the people that these stories are about."

The ROSE Awards were created to recognize employees who go above and beyond on a daily basis at their jobs. Customers have more interactions with the frontline employee than owners or managerial staff so it's these employees that can have a lasting impression on patrons. And a new addition to this year's event was the Recognition of Industry Success and Excellence (RISE) Awards. These new awards honored managerial employees that have either risen above expectations or were previous ROSE Awards winners who have yet again gone above and beyond.

"We added the RISE awards this year because nominations always come in for managers and for those who aren't frontline employees," Bethany Randolph, Special Events Manager for the SSCVA said. "We wanted to give them recognition as well. This is my favorite event of the year because those frontline employees really deserve to be recognized and this is a great way to do so." 

Batistatos and Dick each read stories about the winners that touched on the selfless acts that each person did to help out a customer, accomodate a guest, and be an all around positive and valuable asset to their company without asking anything in return. Each name announced brought hearty applause from the audience as the winners made their way to the stage and accepted their awards with eagerness and excitement. A song of the winner's choosing was played as each one came up on stage to add that extra special touch to the night for them. On top of that, each person went home with a gift basket that was filled with fantastic goodies from all sorts of local businesses.

"We cover Indiana business news around the state and Northwest Indiana is very important," Dick said. "And this event is important because it recognizes those employees who affect the bottom lines for businesses. So this is a special night for everyone involved. My company does whatever it can to get good business content out to the people and this is definitely is a good piece of business content. Tourism is a big business for the state of Indiana and the people being honored tonight really make a difference in that industry."

The 2014 ROSE Award Winners are: 

Meltem Ahuoglu - Ameristar Casino Hotel, East Chicago, IN Darren Dewell - Crown Brewing, Crown Point, IN Margaret Dubesa - Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton, IN Joseph Fetty - Fair Oaks Farm, Newton County, IN Donald Frantz - Holiday Inn Express, Schererville, IN Eduardo Fuentes - Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton, IN James Kertis - Ameristar Casino Hotel, East Chicago, IN Sam Maclin - The Free Enterprise System, Lansing, IL Peter Mandich - Ameristar Casino Hotel, East Chicago, IN Robbie Martin - Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton, IN Emily Trisler - Bellaboo's Play and Discovery Center, Lake station, IN Crystal White - Hammer's Restaurant, Michigan City, IN

The 2014 RISE Award Winners are:

Dominique Bartee - Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton, IN Joshua Sanders - Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton, IN Andy Solis - Best Western Northwest Indiana, Hammond, IN

"I feel quite honored," Award recipient Dewell said. "It feels good to know that people notice your hard work."

Click here to find out more about the ROSE Awards.

Click here to see more photos from the event!

Gift basket partners: Albanese Confectionery, Albert's Diamond Jeweler, Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago, Cabela's World's Foremost Outfitter, Chicago White Sox, El Taco Real, Epic Limo, Fair Oaks Farms, Gary SouthShore Railcats, Hilton Garden Inn Chesterton, Hoosier Bat Co., It's Just Serendipity, JAK's Warehouse, Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets, Lighthouse Restaurant, Lucrezia Ristorante, Majestic Star Casino and Hotel, Shady Creek Winery, South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, Theater at the Center, T.J. Maloney's Authentic Irish Pub

Sponsors: Times Media Comany, Lakeshore Public Media, Horseshoe Casino Hammond, Ameristar Casino Hotel, Epic Limo, Inc., State of Mind Concept Salon and Spa, Serenity Springs