A New Brunswick housekeeping executive has been voted “Employee of the Year” by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
“I am in shock. This just doesn’t happen to people like me,” said Nancy Pedersen who has been working at the now Crowe Plaza Lord Beaverbrook hotel in Fredericton for the past 52 years.
“I have not woken up and not wanted to come to work,” said Peterson who was awarded the honour at the Canadian Tourism Awards in Ottawa last week.
Pedersen started cleaning rooms when she was 16 and worked her way up to executive housekeeper and now oversees an entire staff. It is her responsibility to inspect the rooms to make sure they are up to standard.
“If we didn’t maintain it they wouldn’t stay here,” said Pedersen
She is a humble yet meticulous woman said her manager Trevor Morgan who has been working in the industry for more than 40 years and has never has an employee bestowed the award. He said that Pedersen’s attention to every detail to keep the clients happy is award winning, but supporting her staff is also a main priority.
“It is as important to know that her team is motivated and happy in what they do,” said Morgan.
Often a sounding board for newcomers working at the hotel whose families are far from reach.
“I have a lot of respect for my staff a lot of respect for them and if I can help them I will help them however I can,” she said.
Nataliia Shevchuk, who works as a housekeeper in the hotel, moved to Canada to escape the war in Ukraine a year ago. Her 24-year-old son is still there.
“Nobody knows when the military will take him off to war,” she said.
The unwavering support from Pedersen she said has made it easier to cope.
Not a woman who loves the spotlight, at 68-years-old one might think Pedersen would be ready to turn in her room keys.
“I don’t think about retirement,” she said as she wipes down the remote control in one of the rooms, for a second time.
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