THE CARIBBEAN (July 6, 2010) � During its President�s Inauguration Dinner, hosted in Montego Bay at Half Moon, CHTA honored Della Iochia Clara Jones of Sandals Regency La Toc, St. Lucia, as well as Kevin McKenzie of Atlantis Resort, Nassau, Bahamas, as Caribbean Employee of the Year and Caribbean Supervisor of the Year, respectively.

�It is with great pleasure that we recognize Della Iochia Clara Jones� and Kevin McKenzie�s selfless contributions to Caribbean tourism and the role they play in making our region synonymous with exemplary service,� said Alec Sanguinetti, CD � Director General & CEO of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association.

Caribbean Employee of the Year

As Senior Sales Executive in Sandals Regency La Toc�s Sales and Weddings department in St. Lucia, Della Iochia Clara Jones� responsibilities have grown to include running the sales team in the absence of a resort sales manager. She exhibits great communication and leadership skills and ensures that all tasks are completed in a thorough and efficient manner.

Della describes herself as �a self motivated individual who is consistently driven by passion and believes that hard work and dedication is the true key to success.

�I absolutely love being a part of the tourism industry. I love meeting and assisting people, creating �wow� moments, giving our guests more than they expect and being an ambassador for my country. I am always in the pursuit of being the best I could be professionally and as a person,� she added.

Throughout her career at two Sandals properties in St. Lucia � where she began as a Playmaker and was promoted to Tour Desk Manager, Wedding Consultant and Sales Executive before reaching her current post � Della was constantly singled out for exemplary service in guest questionnaires.

�Della has an impeccable record and is always ready to give her best. She possesses great supervisory, communication, customer service and team building skills,� said Michael James, General Manager of Sandals Regency La Toc, St. Lucia, noting that resort guests are constantly �reminding us of the gem we have here with us.�

CHTA President Enrique De Marchena Kaluche (left) and CHTA Director General & CEO Alec Sanguinetti (right) present the Caribbean Hotel Employee of the Year Award to Della Iochia Clara Jones (middle), Sandals Regency La Toc, St. Lucia

During her free time, Della teaches 16 year olds to dance free of charge. She also visits nursing homes and children�s homes to do volunteer work. Her hobbies include dancing, reading and writing poetry.

Caribbean Supervisor of the Year

Kevin McKenzie is Technical Systems Manager in the Engineering department of Atlantis Resorts, Nassau, Bahamas.

�My philosophy is to train and empower my staff and to encourage them to learn as much as they can for as long as they can,� said McKenzie.

�My humility grants me the ability to embrace my staff as partners, encouraging a mutual level of respect and integrity among the team,� he added.

Kevin has been with Atlantis Resorts since 1998, starting as Preventative Maintenance Manager until he was promoted to Chief Engineer and ultimately to his current role as Technical Systems Manager.

�Kevin exemplifies the quality of a manager that any progressive company wants,� said George Markantonis, President and Managing Director for Atlantis. �The results that he produces speaks volumes of his capability in leading his entire team to fulfill all their responsibilities, not to mention, the impact he clearly possesses to deliver on our company�s business goals,� he added.

�Kevin possesses strong organizational and planning skills, and continues to demonstrate his dedication to self-development for future growth opportunities,� noted Markantonis.

CHTA President Enrique De Marchena Kaluche (right) presents the Caribbean Hotel Supervisor of the Year Award to Kevin McKenzie (left), Atlantis Resorts, Nassau, Bahamas

. When not at work, Kevin is a member of the Men�s Fellowship Choir at Kemp Road Ministries and teaches racquetball to young boys at church on Saturday mornings.

For more information on upcoming CHTA events and developments, stay tuned to www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com or follow the organization on Facebook or Twitter.

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members� needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner.  CHTA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region � and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 525 allied members. For more information, visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.