If you ask Todd Patrick, he did nothing more than anyone else would do if put in the same position.
Word got to him that a teenager was living outside behind a supermarket, not far from a school he was attending. The temperatures were dropping to some of the coldest that Florida had seen in years, and the young man had nowhere to go.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Patrick, the director of sales at Hampton Inn & Suites in Wesley Chapel, couldn’t stand the thought of him suffering or maybe even dying in the cold. He pulled out his credit card, went to the front desk of his hotel, and booked a room for the teen.
Three months later, Patrick found himself in front of a conference phone with one of the chain’s vice presidents, Scott Schrank, on the other line. And Schrank had a surprise of his own for Patrick: a coveted Spirit of Hampton Award, a national honor only a handful of Hampton employees receive each year out of hundreds of applicants.
“I love the fact that to you, people just don’t go unnoticed,” Schrank told Patrick. “This had nothing to do with hospitality, and that’s what I love about examples like this. You believe you were born to care, and you look for opportunities to give, and that’s what you did.”
Patrick learned about the boy’s plight from Terri Williamson, a sales representative with The Laker/Lutz News. Williamson has had a strong working relationship with Hampton Inn general manager Janet Arnold for several years, and hoped Arnold could do something to help.
Patrick overheard the need, and sprung into action without hesitation.
“It’s the highest personal achievement award in the Hampton brand,” Arnold said. “You are nominated by your peers, and it’s just because we noticed you doing something that was extraordinary. We are really proud of this achievement.”
After the cold weather subsided, Arnold and Williamson reached out to Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and then honorary Wesley Chapel mayor Troy Stevenson. They put together a plan they hoped would help the young man finish school, without the distraction of not having a place to call home.
Patrick wasn’t told he won the award until revealed by Schrank. Even then, he seemed uncomfortable with the attention, managing a little more than “Thank you very much” to the hotel employees that had gathered to honor him, including David Larson, managing partner of New Tampa Hospitality Group, which owns the hotel.
“I wish you could see Todd’s face,” Larson told Schrank. “He is one of the most humble people I know, and he just goes out and does what he does every day. We are very proud of him.”
The Wesley Chapel Hampton, located at 2740 Cypress Ridge Blvd., also had another honor to celebrate last week as well. The location won its fourth Lighthouse Award, a national honor that designates the hotel as one of the best in overall accommodations, service and quality, among the chain’s 1,900 locations.
The Lighthouse is based on customer feedback measured through guest satisfaction surveys on the hotel, as well as product quality and service scores measured every three months.
Arnold, however, is now looking straight to the top for the 94-room hotel next year. She wants a Connie, the highest award the Hilton Worldwide gives, named after its founder, Conrad Hilton.
“We were so close the last time, and I know we can do it,” Arnold told her employees. “We just have to keep working hard.”
Published March 26, 2014
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