Incentive - September 2008 - (Page 67) B o b C o n t e, 6 1 June 19 of this year was Bob Conte’s 30th anniversary. At the staff meeting there was a lot of “whoop-de-do,” a pin and a pat on the back, he says. “I was thinking today, I’ve met all these people through the years, it’s a sobering thought,” says Bob. “This hotel was an Army hospital in the Second World War, and I met people who were patients.” Today, Bob is The Greenbrier’s resident historian, a job he says he stumbled into. “I went to Santa Clara University and then got a degree in American studies at Case Western. Then, I met the C h a rl i e Wa s h i n g t o n will turn 73 in December and has so many fond memories of his 33 years at The Broadmoor, they could fill a book. He started working part-time as a bellman after a 21-year military career, and has been in Guest Services ever since. Most of what he remembers are all the guest activities that involve children. He has five children (one passed away), 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren of his own. “Oh, I love the Easter egg hunt, and one time I couldn’t help but point out the hidden eggs for a four-year-old who didn’t have any. She filled up her basket in a hurry,” he says. He also remembers his first celebrity sighting: Jimmy Stewart, who, at that time, was a reservist in the Air Force doing his duty in Colorado Springs as a young one-star general. He has stories of meeting many presidents. “One of the best memories I have is when [Ronald] Reagan they know it will be valued.” Probably the most fascinating thing about the hotel is the secret bunker—no longer a secret. “I was here fourteen years before it was exposed. The remarkable thing is I never thought I’d see it.” “The Greenbrier has had a big impact on my life. We’re immensely proud of this hotel.” –Bob Conte, The Greenbrier right guy at the right time—the GM. A lot of historical material had accumulated in the [230year-old resort’s] attic, and he cared about it. I sorted through it, and I also worked at the National Archives, so I was the perfect person to do this. I was a pig in slop.” He says he spent months sequestered, looking at papers, books and photos, then adds he was “never happier.” Bob wrote History of the Greenbrier, a book that tells the whole story of the hotel. “We sell it here. Now I get respect, because I generate revenue,” he jokes. The hotel also has a museum filled with historical documents that come from people who donate photos and letters, and are acquired by “keeping an eye on eBay,” he says. “Once people know there’s a historian on staff, In the late 1950s, the U.S. government approached The Greenbrier to construct an Emergency Relocation Center—that is, a bunker/bomb shelter—for use by the U.S. Congress in case of nuclear war. The agreement lasted 30 years. “[The bunker] was shocking in its scale,” says Bob. “The reality was way more impressive than the rumor.” For Bob, the hotel is a special place for another reason. He met his wife of 19 years here. “When she took the job as the director of social activities I had been here 10 years. We got married right in front of the Spring House.” Most days they have lunch together in the company cafeteria. Both of their children, Nicholas and Mary Cecilia, have worked as lifeguards at the resort. broke out of a line to come shake hands with me.” Charlie was the first in the hotel to receive Bellman of the Year and received his 25-year award with the president and resident manager of the hotel. He is in all the hotel’s training videos. “They celebrate five, ten, fifteen years and at twenty-five years they call you a Pioneer Member. They have a dinner for us—there were three celebrating twenty-five years—and my wife, Lorraine, and I went.” Charlie and his wife have been married 52 years. What has kept him in the business? “One of the reasons is the owners. The Gaylord family bought The Broadmoor several years ago, and they are wonderful. Our president, Steven Bartolin, is wonderful, too. We hang out. Seven years ago I had a massive heart attack and Steve stayed with me every day. I’m seventy-two, but I’m not the kind that can sit around doing nothing. So I work three or four days a week, four to five hours. They won’t let me retire,” he says. And Charlie just may be working a few more years. His mother, who lives in California, just turned 96. incentivemag.com | September 2008 | Incentive | 67 http://incentivemag.com
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