A well-organized bonfire, in a party-like setting on the beach at “The Half Shell”, on the southern end of Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Anguilla, was seen as a fitting way to climax a series of training and orientation sessions in the run-up to Thursday’s reopening of the property.
Speaking at the 5 pm to 8:30 PM event on Tuesday, October 16, Four Seasons General Manager, Mr. Jose’ Adames, was grateful to the personnel in the People and Culture Division for their work in bringing about the events leading up to the reopening of the property.
“When you think about this, we have not done this reopening for two years since October 2016,” referring to the closed season that year and the impact of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. “Here we are still standing, still strong and still challenged. Congratulations to all of you. Let’s have a wonderful time and, without any further ado, I would like to introduce Mr. David Carty.”
Mr. Carty, a Social and Cultural Historian and a former Director of Tourism, told the large gathering: “I want to start by saying that if you don’t know – and this is where the history starts – that this site is actually a blessed site. He added: “The history of this site, starting with the Zemi, the Amerindians, and now sort of ending with you [Four Seasons] is an opportunity for you to continue to grow Anguilla…The tourism industry has made a remarkable change to the way we lived: a lot of it good; a lot of it not so good – but let’s focus on the good. You are in a blessed place as exampled by that Zemi which was found under a pigeon peas tree right up where that main building is. So if the ancient Anguillians that we call ‘Malliouhanese’ blessed this site, it is up to you now to continue that blessing and make Four Seasons the most fantastic hotel…”
Mr. Adames thanked Mr. Carty for sharing his wealth of knowledge about the Anguillian culture and the history of the property with the team.
Up next was Omalie 360 who played a wide array of musical selections for the over 200 employees present. The atmosphere was energetic, fun, inspirational and festive. There were employees dancing, sitting around the bonfire roasting marshmallows and others talking, laughing and drinking.
The team was encouraged to take this same energy, excitement and passion into the days, weeks and months ahead. They were charged to use their rich Anguillian culture and sense of pride to provide exceptional service to the guests.
