Dec. 11--The hospitality Sandy Sloan doles out at the Hampton Inn Broadway at the Beach frequently comes right back. 

Grateful customers have sent her pies. A Canadian couple appreciative of her determination to find the perfect room brought her a basket of gifts from the north, including Canadian syrup, flags and pins. 

Now, after two years with area Hampton Inns, Sloan has gotten a big thank-you from the locals. 

Sloan is this year's Hospitality Employee of the Year, an award given by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. The Grand Strand has produced statewide winners for the past two years. 

Like the previous recipients, Sloan aims to connect with customers by using her smile and some Southern hospitality. 

"People like that, when they walk up to the desk and you know their names," she said. 

"We make it a point to see people and talk to them. They like that personal touch." As the hotel's group sales golf director, Sloan is responsible for keeping visiting groups happy. She arranges trips, picks some guests up at the airport, coordinates meeting space and greets bus groups with baked goodies. 

Sloan has catered to beauty queens, airline companies, brides and even a Ford Probe car owners club, one of the more peculiar groups she remembers. 

She thrives on the busy times juggling several groups at once. 

The challenge drives her, she said. 

Sloan can't say how many groups she's helped in the past year, but can roll off stories about many of them. 

"My filing cabinets are so full of groups," Sloan said. 

Her personal touch and zeal make Sloan stand out, said hotel general manager Paul Garcia, who nominated Sloan for the award. 

He's accumulated a stack of letters from guests praising her commitment to customer service, positive attitude and even her willingness to help one guest with some typing. Several said Sloan's service will keep them coming back. 

"They are all the time asking for her," Garcia said. "I get voice mails, e-mails about her. It goes on and on." The rare glitches give Sloan that adrenaline rush she likes. 

There's the time she accommodated a group by turning a hotel room into meeting space, moving the beds and dressers out, because all the other meeting rooms were full. 

A run to a local restaurant helped save the day when a group's barbecue, stored unmarked in the hotel refrigerator, accidentally was tossed in the trash during the daily cleaning. 

Sloan credits her colleagues and their team effort. 

"Everybody jumped in, and nobody ever knew the difference," she said. 

In February, Sloan will go to Columbia to compete with other winners for the S.C. Hospitality Employee of the Year. That award is given during the annual Governor's Conference on Tourism and Travel. 

She's aiming to extend Myrtle Beach's two-year streak as the state winner. Last year's winner also worked at a Hampton Inn in Myrtle Beach. 

"I just wish everybody could have a job they love," Sloan said. 

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