Not long ago in a meeting that included the President of the management company and the General Partners of the hotel, Leonard Ely, one of the original general partners said, “You’ve been here that long?  Well you really made something out of this job”.

Over the years it has been interesting getting to know Leonard. I have not had a lot of opportunities, in the scheme of things… only snippets of time once a month over the past 18 years.  He has deep roots in Palo Alto and with Stanford University.  There is a street called “Ely Place” in Palo Alto, “maybe named after my father,” he told me.

What was evident immediately was that he was a man of integrity.  A man of a time past, where deals where made and kept on a handshake.  He is a man that I found to be tough but lovable, and took comfort in the fact that he shared the same birth date as my deceased father, giving me an idea of what my father may have been like had he lived.

Just yesterday someone asked me ” How have you kept your job fresh for so many years?”  It was something I had to think about.  There is not really one simple answer.  It begins with the trust of the owners and my direct boss Bruce Hraba, President of Waterford Hotels and Inns.  They have believed in me, and the direction I have taken the hotel. This has allowed me to be creative and “keep it fresh”.  But I am not sure that is all that has driven me.

The other day I completed a story that I had written for my uncle.   He is a similar age to Leonard, eighty something, the new sixty, right?  They come from very different backgrounds, one educated at the best schools, one barely getting out of ninth grade to be apprenticed and then at 15 drafted into the army.  Both made it through their lives successful, respected members of their communities, touching people’s lives in a very positive way.

My uncle had plenty of life lessons for me, but one of the ones that sticks in my mind is “you can be whatever you want to be, just be the best at it. Even if you just want to shine shoes”. I have never heard Leonard say this, but I imagine him giving similar advice.

So although the idea of only having to strive to shine shoes was appealing as a very young person, what I soon discovered was “being the best” is not as easy as it sounds.

I would never think of myself as the “best”, I have moments of self -doubt that I work through. These have made me stronger and I think are a normal part of growth.  But I do have those words my uncle spoke to me embedded in my soul to make me constantly look at ways to improve, make things better, and listen to the people I am serving at the hotel.

I made something of my job at the Stanford Terrace Inn [ED NOTE: You still do. =)], by making myself the best I can be, treating my employees fairly and creating a culture for them to thrive in, keeping the goals in mind, listening to our guests, and honoring the respect I have received from my boss and the owners of the hotel…..

……If that’s making something out of one’s job, I think I am there.  If it means being the best, I hope I am getting close.  It was nice to hear it from Leonard, though.

Shanti to all!

Barbara