Mid-Week Mugging is a series of features by BayToday. Each Wednesday, we will run a profile on a local business or organization that will be "mugged" with BayToday coffee cups. The subjects will then "mug" for our camera and we will tell a little bit about their story.
In today's NHL, the onset of the unrestricted free agency period is sometimes known as the "silly season." On July 1, and in the days that follow, owners throw money and term at players coming off career years, or at players who have not broken through yet, thereby earning new contracts on little more than promise alone. Many owners regret offering these contracts before they even expire.
After the initial flurry of activity, while the ink is still drying on the blockbuster deals, the savvy general managers get to work on finding players that suit their team needs. These deals usually come within a week of the opening of free agency. These are the depth moves, players willing to sign for fair market value for a chance to win. Most of all, this is where true contenders make a signing that could potentially make or break their Cup hopes. This is when the natural leaders, with strong work ethics, and versatile skills that can push teams over the top, get scooped up.
John Lechlitner, a savvy general manager in his own right, as well as owner of the local food, beverage, and hospitality services consortium Cecil's (which includes Cecil's Brewhouse and Kitchen; The Grande Event Centre; and Cecil's Catering) feels he has just made one of those key first-week-of-July signings that will be the right fit for all, strengthening his team in the process.
Susan Ray has nearly four decades of experience in the hospitality industry. She is known by many from her roles in various incarnations of the Pinewood Park Hotel, specializing in catering functions. There's a strong chance that you've been to a Susan Ray-led catering event at the Pinewood and not even known it. Ray tends to stay out of the limelight while catering to the needs of her clients, preferring the satisfaction of a job well done after a hard day's/night's work.
"Once a three-day conference or wedding is done, it's a high for me. You work with a bride and groom for a year or more, you do their wedding, they leave, everything's great. You just have this internal feeling, you go home and you've done your job," observed Ray.
Ray was born into a family with roots in the tourism industry and comes by her reputation as a hard worker honestly. She started at the Pinewood as a housekeeper and advanced through the ranks to the position of general manager of the hotel, a position she held until she left the former Pinewood, now Ramada, June 30.
"The most rewarding job I had there was in the catering department," says Ray, and her new title at Cecil's of operations manager will see her focusing her considerable amount of energy in that aspect of the business.
Not one to talk herself up, but with some prompting, Ray sheds some light on what makes her one of the area's foremost catering experts. "The attention to detail that the customer is looking for, the training of the staff to be at a high level [of service], and the involvement that I've had with the community, the relationships that I have with corporate companies, and the satisfaction," that our dealings have produced.
Ray's attention to detail has served her employers well in the past and she is eager to continue that "wow factor" with Cecil's. Ray says that one of her most cherished accomplishments in her tenure at the Pinewood was to get the call to cater the weddings for one family. All of them, each child in the family. In thirty years in her catering role, Ray also put on a 25th wedding anniversary for a couple whose wedding she had also catered. This is the sort of satisfied, repeat business that operators dream of.
Family plays a big part in Ray's life. While off fulfilling the wishes of brides-to-be, her own family has supported her, she says, understanding that events such as weddings do not tend to take place on Wednesday mornings.
With former operations manager Dave Coles pursuing other business opportunities, but still slated to stay on in a less front-line position, Lechlitner says he had two names in mind to fill Coles' extensive role with Cecil's, but never got around to calling the second after his first choice, Ray, agreed to make the move.
Asked what qualities he looks for to fill such a crucial role, Lechlitner immediately answers, "Number one is trust. I've been very fortunate with the staff here." Cecil's has several loyal employees who have been on board for 25 years or more. "I don't take all the credit for that, but our personalities seem to mesh, and the senior people have a comfort level," in discussing matters to constantly evolve and improve the business.
Ray and her 40 years experience will fit right in, agrees Lechlitner. "Longevity. Skill set. Personality. Her strengths are going to allow me as an owner to focus on some things that I would like to focus on more." Lechlitner notes that he is responsible for the vision and direction of the enterprise, while Ray will have a more hands-on day-to-day role.
"The staff has been very welcoming here. We've got a really good group of people. It was time, I wasn't nervous, I was ready to make the change. I just walked in [the first day] and said, 'Ok, let's get to work,' explained Ray about walking through a different set of doors on July 4, for the first time in 40 years.
Added Ray before getting back to work at her new job: "I'm looking forward to the change and the opportunity to work with new customers. I've always enjoyed the industry. The big thing for me is that I'm truly happy doing it. I don't ever feel like I don't want to go to work that day, for me, it has always been the exact opposite."
