Workers in Winner’s Circle for Extraordinary Hospitality

And the winners are . . .

In the first year of a new program, the Orange County Tourism Council recently honored seven visitor industry workers for extraordinary service. Selected from 722 nominations made by travelers from around the world, the workers were honored at a Tinseltown dinner theater ceremony. They are:

Sean Kirklen of the Hyatt Regency Irvine, who changed a guest’s flat tire in a downpour; Deanna Stephens of Knott’s Berry Farm, who arranged a free meal for a handicapped guest stranded after the Easter sunrise service; Robert Grundy and Georgia Eskridge of the Doubletree Hotel in Costa Mesa, for general excellence in service (Grundy) and helping gift-shop guests (Eskridge); backstage tour specialist Elizabeth Carlock of South Coast Repertory Theatre, and John Wayne Airport communications operator Donna Yurgeles, who drove a stranded elderly woman home to Fullerton at 1 a.m.

The top Walter Knott Award went to Joanne C. Sokolski, a volunteer in the county’s Office of Protocol. The tourism group said Sokolski had worked long hours promoting Orange County in foreign countries and ensuring that visitors from overseas were treated well here.

The service excellence program is continuing this year.