Published: October 29, 2008 09:36 pm         

R.O.S.E. award recognizes great customer service

DANVILLE — Danville leaders had reason to celebrate Wednesday morning at a breakfast sponsored by Danville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at the David S. Palmer Arena.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the visitors bureau, and statistics show a considerable growth in tourism for the county. In 1991, the first year the state had tourist dollars tracked per county, visitors spent $32 million in the community. This year, tourism accounts so far for $70 million spent locally.

Despite that impressive performance, the heartiest applause went to this year’s R.O.S.E. award winner, Nancy Horath, manager of Charlotte’s.

This is the 12th year for this award, whose name stands for Recognition of Service Excellence. Winners of the title are those whom Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, emcee of the event, described as, “the first people tourists meet, the ones on the front lines.”

Horath of Danville truly is a front-line person. She manages Charlotte’s restaurant from her post at the front counter, where she greets customers and takes their orders. Horath has worked at Charlotte’s for 5½ years, almost since the restaurant first opened.

As a reward for the excellent customer service she provides, Horath received a dozen yellow roses, a certificate, a plaque bearing her name that will hang in Charlotte’s for a year and a gift basket whose contents are worth more than $2,200.

Horath wiped her eyes after the brief ceremony and talked about how lucky she feels to work at Charlotte’s.

“We’re a family there,” she said. “I’ve been in the restaurant business for 30 years, but Charlotte’s is special.

“We have people who visit from all over. Just this week, I had customers from Fargo, N.D., and California. I love meeting them when they come to us.”

David Quick, Charlotte’s owner, nominated both Horath and first runner-up Steve Haluska for the R.O.S.E. award. Haluska has worked as a server at the restaurant for about 1½ years. He also has an extensive background in the hospitality industry.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 15,” he said. “What I enjoy the most is the one-on-one with the customers, but I enjoy the larger private parties we have there, too.

“We have an ambience at Charlotte’s that you don’t find anywhere else.”

Other nominees included second runner-up Trisha Atkinson with Red Lobster and honored nominees Rebecca Townsend with Lee’s Famous Recipe, Kim Fox of Kennekuk County Park and Jodi Davis with Sleep Inn and Suites.