Three proud women - Excellence in the hospitality industry

While many settle for what life has thrown them, there are some who will never accept being among the ordinary and who are trailblazers in their own right.

They are the ones who will stop at nothing to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.

Meet three women who are bent on making their mark by achieving their dreams and adding immense value to the company they represent.

Shereka Dobson, dining room server at Sandals Negril; Fabriella Wynter, wedding planner at Beaches Sandy Bay, and administrative assistant at the Grand Pineapple Negril Resort and Spa, Trudy-Ann Knott. All three have been awarded the prestigious title of Team Member of the Year for their respective resorts.

Shereka Dobson

The 27-year-old mother of two has been employed at Sandals Negril for four years. Her journey at the resort began as a server for special-request candlelight dinners. After three months, Dobson successfully acquired her current position as dining room server in the resort's largest dining location, the Bayside Restaurant.

The lady with the smile, her commitment to excellent service and flawless delivery, her wide gap-toothed grin accompanied by a pleasant "Good morning. How are we doing today?" earned her the Smile Award for Courtesy in the resort's monthly Prestige Awards in 2011.

In addition to those awards, Dobson has also copped the General Manager's Award, Most Improved Team Member Award and Department Team Member of the Month Award (a three-time feat).

Fabriella Wynter

"You have to work hard, be optimistic, and you have to have the passion to make the normal exciting and give your clients the experience of a lifetime." This is the mantra that guides 25-year-old-Wynter who was recently named Beaches Sandy Bay's Team Member of the Year.

She entered the resort as an entertainment coordinator in 2009. A year later, she was asked to assume the role of wedding planner, which she happily accepted. Wynter now supervises a team of two wedding captains and handles the sales desk when the sales/wedding manager is out of office. She competently plans weddings, sells the luxury-included package and conducts resort tours with travel agents. When she's not in the business of creating beautiful matrimonial beginnings, she skips over to the front office department to help with check-ins or to the dining room to serve.

What drives her is planning the dream wedding for couples that get married at Beaches Sandy Bay, and getting rave reviews after she and her team have pulled out all the stops is enough to keep her going.

Trudy-Ann Knott

Knott currently juggles two jobs as an administrative assistant and direct guest services representative at the Grand Pine-apple Beach Resort and Spa. She is charged with the responsibility of assisting the general manager and the human resource and training executive with their daily duties and responsibilities.

Being named Team Member of the Year was a very humbling experience for her. She was proud to know that she was awarded top honours after joining the Sandals Group as a participant in the Hospitality Trainee Programme (HTP). "I worked really hard after I was given the opportunity to prove myself as a trainee. Now I am reaping the rewards and I appreciate the fact that my dedication has been acknowledged." notes Knott who was initially disappointed that she was not placed in the accounting department. But she made a concerted effort to prove herself as an assistant in the human resource and training department, which eventually led to her assuming a permanent position. Known for her dedication to recruiting and orientating every new batch of trainees, she is also one who does not hesitate to dedicate additional hours to the job in order to ensure that her tasks are completed; and she still finds time to fit studying into her busy schedule. Knott continues to expand her knowledge of the hotel's operations by cross-training in various departments, including the resort shop and front office.

She is currently pursuing her Associate degree in business administration at the University College of the Caribbean and hopes to complete her bachelor's degree immediately after. Her main goal is to be named Ultimate Team Member of the Year for Sandals Resorts International and later sit in a managerial post within the chain.