HONOR OF DISTINCTION: Durretts capture top County hospitality award
Fish-Tale Marina owners Al and Kathy Durrett were not on Fort Myers Beach when they received a phone call from Officer George Schwing asking for assistance to find a Chicago family a place to stay after they were swindled in a Craig’s List condo rental scam.
Al, who was golfing, and Kathy, who was shopping, told Officer Schwing to drop Ann Walkington and her two daughters off at the marina and have one of the marina captains take them for a day trip while they made their way back to the island. The Walkingtons couldn’t find appropriate accommodations (due to places being booked or out of their price range) on Fort Myers Beach, and the Durretts graciously housed them and provided many more amenities.
The kind gesture to strangers propelled the Durretts to the prestigious Honor of Distinction award during the 2015 Elaine McLaughlin Outstanding Hospitality Service Awards at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa last Thursday. They humbly accepted the award and were relatively speechless afterwards.
“They had a place booked for a week. They sent their money down and when they drove straight through from Chicago, there was somebody else in the rental,” Al said. “Our staff at work took charge while we were not there.”
The scam is still under investigation, and the Walkingtons are still out of the money they wired.
Nomination remarks state the Durretts offered their guest house for a mere $100, helped with the unpacking, provided food for the week, a day boating trip, a fishing trip and a dinner and a movie at Beach Theater. When the guest house was rented out a few days later, the Durretts invited the three to stay with them in their home.
“How can you say ‘no’ to those smiles?,” Al said.
Ann said the two families have maintained contact, sending pictures of the kids via email while the Durretts send pictures of their dogs.
“They are wonderful,” she said. “We’ve built a friendship from a tragedy. We could not have been made to feel more special on this trip. We were so blessed to have met them, and they literally saved us. We are forever grateful – there are very few people like them in the world!”
When the Walkingtons were notified that the Durretts might be receiving an award in late August, they decided to fly down to be at the awards ceremony. And, you can guess where they stayed during their visit – at the Durretts’ home. The Durrrets also received a 40-inch television for their efforts.
The 15th annual awards ceremony celebrated hospitality professionalism and extraordinary customer service that businesses provide to Lee County visitors each year. First class service and “over-the-top” hospitality role models were selected in six categories: restaurant, transportation, accommodations, attractions, other services and Good Samaritan. Best Tourism Boss and Honor of Distinction were also awarded.
Among the 2015 category winners in the restaurant category was Executive Sous Chef David Rashty of Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina. Rashty was nominated for two incidents in which he meticulously cared for a customer’s food allergies in one, and then cared for a three-year-old child who was having an epileptic seizure in the other.
“Our nominee began working with our family weeks before our visit to help accommodate our son’s food allergies,” said a nominator from San Francisco. “He and his entire team went above and beyond to ensure safety and comfort, with meals that tasted fantastic. At every meal we reviewed options with our nominee for our son. Just amazing!”
In the other incident, the child had been seizure free for two months so the family planned a much-needed getaway to Pink Shell. When the little girl began having a seizure at the outdoor restaurant, Rashty called 911 from his cell phone and stayed close to her to make sure she was breathing and comfortable as he continued the communication with the 911 operator.
“He never left her side while waiting for the ambulance to arrive to take her to the hospital,” the nomination letter stated. “He was so calm the whole time and so very helpful to the girl and her family. He did an outstanding and admirable job in such a serious and stressful incident.”
Other category winners were Jason Barrett of Lee County Port Authority (transportation), who captured the same award last year; Nicole Logan of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Myers East at the Forum (accommodations); Bill Hammond of Endless Summer Charters (attractions); Nicole King of Keiser University (other services); and Capt. Skip Laney and Capt. Brian Holaway with Captiva Cruises (Good Samaritan). Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village General Manager Eric Ashton was recognized as the Best Tourism Boss.
Honorable mention plaques and overall winner trophies were distributed to the 2014 customer service leaders.
“We are celebrating your hospitality professionalism and the extraordinary customer service you provide to visitors to The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel in Lee County,” said Lee VCB Executive Director Tamara Pigott at the event. “Without your dedication and enthusiasm in talking about our beautiful destination to visitors and local residents, we would not be able to provide the hands-on, personalized, customer service that makes us different from so many other counties. You work with over 5 million visitors each year, and your goal to provide superior customer service to your guests, customers and visitors is what sets us apart from destinations around the world.”
Hospitality tourism was said to generate nearly $3 billion for the local economy.
Sponsors of the event included Eric Ashton of Weston Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village; Curt Brenner of Gullwing Beach Resort; Shawn Farrell of South Seas Island Resort; Sandie Greiner of Sun Splash Family Waterpark; Neil Hopgood of DiamondHead Beach Resort & Spa; Lance Julian of Pure Fort Myers; Randy Kares of Pointe Estero Beach Resort; Billy Kirkland of Billy’s Rentals; Bill Lawton of Geraci Travel; Sharon McAllister of Artfest Fort Myers; Dave Nicely of Sun Harvest Citrus; Chris Pendleton of Edison & Ford Winter Estates; Wendy Schnapp of Tarpon Bay Explorers; Jeff Shuff of ‘Tween Waters Inn Island Resort; Kathy Stamper of Key West Express; Alicia Wiley of Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina and Veranda & Rib City Restaurants.
The Steering Committee was comprised of Lauri Albion of Red Coconut RV Resort; Karin Cherwick-Skala of the News-Press Media Group; Teresa Kitts of Breeze Newspapers; Gary Lambert of SunStream Hotels & Resorts; Maria Maddalena of Florida South Western State College; April Russ of Lee County Port Authority; and Lisa Sbuttoni of Captiva Cruises.
“The E Awards would not be successful without the significant contributions of many, including the judges, our amazing sponsors and the team efforts of the owners and managers of the many companies represented here today,” Pigott said.