One of The Graham Companies’ longtime employees has won a coveted prize: an Inn Key Award from the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association.
Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez, tennis supervisor at the Miami Lakes Athletic Club, received the Recreation/Spa Employee of the Year Award from the hospitality organization.
The prize recognizes outstanding and exceptional service and is among many the organization awards each year to celebrate hourly employees in the hospitality industry.
The spotlight fell on Martinez, 45, at the 29th annual awards luncheon held Sept. 24 at the InterContinental Miami hotel.
As an employee of The Graham Companies, Martinez has served the athletic club and its guests and members for 27 years.
He was a national tennis champion in his native Peru while a teenager and represented Peru in Junior Tennis Team NEC World Cups in Japan and Switzerland in the 1990s, the company said.
He was a ranked NCAA Division II college player in the U.S. and graduated from Florida International University with a degree in political science.
He previously coached at clubs in South Florida, ran clinics and summer camps and is a certified Pickleball coach.
Martinez is married and has two children.
Anthony Artiles, general manager of the Athletic Club, described Martinez’s “genuine passion” for the game and called him “an amazing coach” whose skills include leadership, discipline and motivational and organizational coaching. At the Athletic Club, Martinez has “developed hundreds of kids of all ages and levels…,” Artiles said.
The company also nominated Eva Fernandez Miranda in the Administrative Employee of the Year category.
She has just over nine years with the company and is executive assistant to the vice president and general manager at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main.
Also in the competition was Ofelia Valdeon, a housekeeping attendant at the Miami Lakes Athletic Club, nominated as Room Keeper of the Year.
David Healy, vice president and general manager at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main, called Fernandez Miranda “the central force that keeps our operation moving…”
Since 2016, she has been a “vital part” of the hotel’s leadership team, supporting Healy and department leaders for operations, engineering, sales and facilities.
Fernandez Miranda has two adult children.She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Nova Southeastern University, the company said.
Valdeon brought her daughter to Miami from Cuba in 2002 to join her parents in the U.S.
She has 22 years of service with The Graham Companies.
Valdeon began working in 2006 at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main before transferring to the Athletic Club.
She brings genuine kindness, consistency and commitment to work every day, the company said.
Artiles described Valdeon’s positive impact upon the staff, and said when recommending her that she goes out of her way each day to help guests and her fellow colleagues. She is someone who leads by example and makes all guests feel welcome, he said.
Assistant General Manager Annette Prior-Perez called her “…truly one in a million…”
In the photo: Members of The Graham Companies celebrate employees Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez Eva Fernandez Miranda and Ofelia Valdeon on Sept. 24 at the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association’s Inn Key Awards luncheon in Miami. From left: Jennifer Aleman, Human Resources Programs and Projects Specialist; Alejandro Garcia, Director, Sales and Marketing; Andrea Gil, Personal Training Manager; Anthony Artiles, General Manager, Miami Lakes Athletic Club; Annette Prior-Perez, Assistant General Manager, Miami Lakes Athletic Club; Andrea Graham Rechichi, Vice President, Corporate Relations, The Graham Companies; Fran Marte, Director of Operations, Hospitality; Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez, Tennis Supervisor, Miami Lakes Athletic Club; David Healy, Vice President and General Manager, Miami Lakes Hotel on Main; Eva Fernandez Miranda, executive assistant to David Healy at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main; Alina Molina, Vice President of Human Resources, The Graham Companies; Ofelia Valdeon, Housekeeping Attendant, Miami Lakes Athletic Club; Grace Orejas, Human Resources Business Partner, Hospitality, The Graham Companies; Andy Martinez, Front Desk Manager, Miami Lakes Athletic Club; Jorge Gonzalez, Director of Engineering, Hospitality; Lizzette Sanchez, Asst. Controller, Hospitality; Viguhi Barth-Henri Madiou, Reservations Manager and Gilberto Rivera-Ortiz, Guest Services Manager. Courtesy photo.