Award Winners
Congratulations to all of the 2022 R.O.S.E. and R.I.S.E. Award winners! Have you received extraordinary customer service?
Nominate them here.
R.O.S.E. Winners
Brian Daniels
Front Desk Agent
Hampton Inn & Suites, Valparaiso
Brian continuously goes above and beyond. During a bad weather scare, he brought chairs and flashlights into the laundry room and personally called each guest to let them know they were under a watch. He invited the guests to the room and remained with them until the watch had passed. Another instance was a medical scare where a guest had a seizure and fell. Brian immediately called 911, got the manager and proceeded to assist until medical help arrived. He constantly makes guests feel safe, and this is why Hampton is very lucky to have Brian as part of their team.
Tanisha Empederado
Valet Supervisor
Hard Rock Casino, Gary
Service with a smile is a practice Tanisha puts into action daily. She always makes guests feel extremely special and goes out of her way to help. In one interaction, she helped a guest in a wheelchair out the doors to wait for their ride. She felt she couldn’t leave this guest alone so Tanisha did what she does naturally, and sparked up a conversation. The guest found the chat to be life-changing and just what he needed, so he let management know. She turns guests into loyalists and puts a smile on everyone’s face. Tanisha is a true prize to have on the valet team.
Yolanda Holden
Slot Attendant
Horseshoe Casino, Hammond
Yolanda’s passion for her job has made her one of our best slot team members. She works as if she owns the business. In the past year, Horseshoe faced challenges with staff being out due to COVID, but Yolanda did not hesitate to step in where needed. She adjusted her schedule at the spur of the moment to assist her team. When service calls became overwhelming, not only did she move with urgency, but also kept her cool and composure and even held off going on breaks to get guests paid as fast as she could. Yolanda is well-liked and respected among her peers as well as leaders.
Gregg Luttrell
Glass Technician
Glass America, Merrillville
Gregg has worked for the Glass America family for more than 25 years. Recently a customer shared a story of Gregg. He had found a wallet at a business near the shop. After being unable to reach anyone from its contents, he drove 20 minutes out of his way to return it to the address in the wallet. After thanking him, the owner asked how she could show her appreciation, but Gregg just said, “Here’s my card. If you need any of our services give me a call.” The customer said they would continue to do business with Glass America because of this interaction.
Kelli Nissan
Server
Lighthouse Restaurant, Cedar Lake
Kelli goes above and beyond to make guests’ experiences the best they can be. Patrons will wait for Kelli before going to an open table. She greets guests by name and makes genuine connections, creating true friendships with the guests at her tables. Many guests will drive for hours to see her and sit in her section. She does everything she can to make the restaurant successful. She offers to stay late and even does tasks outside of her job duties to help including cleaning. She is the first one in and the last one out every day.
Beverly Rogers
Retail Clerk
Hard Rock Casino, Gary
Beverly comes to work each day with an attitude that is infectious. She creates a guest experience that pulls guests in and keeps them coming back for more. Aside from her great customer service, her intuition is amazing, helping to save the life of a team member. She noticed something was off with this person, went to their side, caught them before they fell to the ground and stayed until a medic arrived. Her quick thinking, love and passion for others allow her to deliver great service on and off the floor.
Marija Sljepcevic
Server
Eli’s Golden Apple Restaurant and Pancake House, Crown Point
Marija’s pleasantness and fantastic memory are why her nominator keeps returning to Eli’s. After just three visits, Marija asked if the nominator and her dad wanted their usual breakfast, repeating every item exactly, down to the flavor of jelly! That kindness made them feel special, as if they were dining at home. She humbly said this skill was just part of her job. Patrons specifically ask to be seated in Marija’s section. Recently the nominator was in a different server’s section while visiting Eli’s, but Marija made a point to come and greet them. She is a valuable blessing to Eli’s and the community!
Emily Totten
Human Resources Specialist
Horseshoe Casino, Hammond
Whether it’s making constant COVID calls for contact tracing, check-ups and callbacks to work, or navigating the complex payroll discrepancies, Emily makes it happen every time. She has graciously offered to cover COVID late-night and weekend call-offs by utilizing her access from home. During a surge of cases, she made sure no team member would not be contacted or go without pay. She also is a co-chairperson of the casino’s HERO charity initiative. Her work has included setting up donation drives for Salvation Army and the Hammond School System, and organizing food sorting volunteer days with NWI Food Bank.
Haley Webb-Bunde
Taproom Supervisor
Manic Mead. Wine. Cider., Crown Point
Haley wins the prize for the most nominations ever received for a single person! She is applauded for always exceeding a customer’s expectations with a smile, even on their busiest days. A number of customers have called Haley a ray of sunshine. One customer stated, “She takes time to get to know every person who comes through the front door, makes sure you’re having the best day, and wants to know how to fix it if you aren’t.” Customers have said she is the reason they drive 1.5 to 3 hours to come back to Manic.
R.I.S.E. Winners
Karla Dunn
Marketing Operations Manager
Horseshoe Casino, Hammond
From helping new hires understand something complicated to defusing situations with guests who are crying or irate, Karla is the type of manager to stand her ground and have your back any second of any day. Guests who have been loyal customers for years like to greet Karla as if they are seeing an old friend. Karla consistently delivers excellent results for herself, her team and Horseshoe. She does an excellent job developing leaders by acting as a mentor to her team. When it comes to Legendary Team Members throughout the casino’s history, there’s Karla, and then there’s the rest of us, eventually.
Martina Marko
Manager Customer Care Advisors
NIPSCO, Merrillville
Martina is a selfless person who goes out of her way to support her peers, employees, leadership and customers. She will spend hours of her time improving the customers’ experiences. While volunteering with a project for Opportunity Enterprises, Martina spoke with every resident or customer that she passed to put them at ease with the work going on. During the COVID spread, she worked 18 hours multiple days to help set up mobile care units where everyone could socially distance, ensuring customer support when they needed them most. On many occasions, coworkers have seen her cry about a customer’s personal situation and would find avenues to assist the customer.
Hailee Norton
Director of Sales
Hilton Garden Inn, Chesterton
Hailee goes well beyond her Director of Sales duties. She works nights and weekends whenever needed. She’ll also step in to help, no matter the task. Recently, the hotel was without a chief engineer. With a large sports group checking in later that day, the pool had an issue that would have forced it to close - a loose filter grate at the bottom needed to be secured. Cut to Hailee in a full suit, jumping in and slowly securing the grate on the bottom. Hailee does not know the meaning of no. If it needs to be done, she’ll do it before she’s even asked with a smile on her face.
Debbie Teeuws
Assistant Manager
Four Corners Winery, Valparaiso
Debbie started at Four Corners as they struggled to open in the spring of 2020, at the pandemic’s beginning. She did whatever was needed! She cleaned, worked on landscaping and interior projects, helped make wine, marketed and moved the business forward. When the owner was overwhelmed, Debbie carried the weight and assured her they could do it. She works selflessly, often for weeks without a day off. As for customer service, her motto is to not simply serve them, but give them an experience so they want to come back. The owner’s favorite sight is to see Debbie scooping up one of the chickens to show it to a customer or child.
Patrick Wozny
Breakfast Attendant
Hampton Inn & Suites, Valparaiso
Being a previous R.O.S.E. winner, Patrick continues to go above and beyond for guests without hesitation. One time Patrick asked the daughter of a family who stayed for an extended period what she would like for breakfast on their last day. She said cinnamon rolls, which they do not normally serve. He went out of his way to pick up rolls on his way to work and decorated a special box to put them in for her. Guests return just because of him and new guests come based on all the wonderful comments they have seen on Hampton’s amazing breakfast attendant.