Farewell Don Anito! Celebrating 30 years of hard work at Casa de Campo!

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Last Wednesday May 30th, Casa de Campo, in its beautiful conference center, Cacique, celebrated a farewell cocktail for “Don Anito”, a loved member of the Casa de Campo staff, who for 30 years, along with his co-workers has worked to make Casa de Campo a proud “Leading Hotels of the World” today! Since its opening in 1974, many wonderful stories have been told about the Casa de Campo Hotel, today one of the “Leading Hotels of the World” and the “World’s Leading Golf Resort”, which includes numerous world-class facilities – and true paradise for residents and visitors! Likewise, Casa de Campo has always been lucky enough to have a fabulous team of employees, like Don Anito, a wonderful hardworking member of the housekeeping department of Casa de Campo, who dedicated many years of his life in a commitment to excellency and enthusiasm he puts into every single task that have allowed many visitors, residents and villa owners to enjoy a magnificient stay in Casa de Campo – an extraordinary reason why last Wednesday May the 30th, Don Anito was surprised with a farewell celebration organized by his co-workers, before enjoying his well deserverd retirement with his beautiful family. During this emotional farewell celebration for Don Anito, we had the opportunity to have quite a nice conversation with him, when he told us about the day he started working for Casa de Campo: @cdcliving: Please tell us a little bit about how and when you started working for Casa de Campo. I started working for Casa de Campo as a cleaner 30 years ago. I was looking for a job when I saw Mr. López, Manager at the Zona Franca, wanting to go into his office, but the person who usually opened the door for him wasn’t there – so I did. After this he asked me if I was looking for I job, I said yes and he asked me to go by his office. I didn’t even know how to hold a broom, I didn’t know how to do anything! I only knew about the kind of work you do in the countryside… But I did! And after they saw how I was and after gaining their trust I was then moved to be in charge of the bedrooms back then. I was in charge of doing the laundry, as well as working as a cleaner in the pool area, some chemicals used for the pool were often a problem for my health, but I managed to make it look good and after that I worked in the suites (back then simply cabañas)… You manage to grow!

 Co-workers remember good old days with don Anito

The afternoon flew by in the middle of wonderful memories, laughter, music and the joy of celebrating a hardworking man, who has earned the respect and love of many of the friends he has now left behind in Casa de Campo, a reason why many of the attendees, before enjoying exquisite picaderas and drinks, took this great opportunity to thank Don Anito and let him (and the everyone else) know how important he is to them:

“I would describe don Anito as a perfect example of how people CAN be economically limited and yet be capable of working so hard and build a great family based on moral values such as responsability, honesty and integrity. To have certain economic limitations is not an excuse for not acting correctly wether you are an employee, the head of the family or a citizen. Anito is the best example”.  — Rosario Vélez, Human Resources General Manager, Casa de Campo

“It has been a long time during which, don Anito, has probably learned many theories and concepts, but above all, he has made us criticise ourselves on every action we take and may take in the future, making us better professionals in every single one of the areaa and departments of the hotel”. — Daniel Hernández, General Manager, Casa de Campo

“Its a pleasure for me to say that I have learned a lot from don Anito during this time. I can say that I’ve known him since late 1975 and he has always been a humble person, a hardworker and a caring person. I have never heard bad comments about don Anito and I hope that the younger generations take him as an example”.  — Beatríz, housekeeping department, Casa de Campo

“It’s an honor for me to tell you what don Anito means to me and the rest of the members of Casa de Campo. We will always show him our love and we’ll continue to do everything he taught us. Many (young) people would wish to have don Anitos’s great value and gift of serving other people – this is something he always demonstrated”. — Miriam Colomé, housekeeping department, Casa de Campo

Below is a selection of photos taken during the farewell celebration for don Anito. We will soon be publishing the complete interview and the many wonderful stories he shared about Casa de Campo!

Farewell don Anito! Thank you for your hardwork and for setting such a great example of dedication and enthusiasm! We hope you enjoy your time with the family!