LEFT: Grenadian chef, Roxanne Russell, took off her chef's coat and revealed a seductive side, as she showed 'Oscar B' of the Mighty Vikings that the only move necessary in the 'Dollar Wine' was the 'Dollar, dollar, dollar' during the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Conference final night Gala and Awards Dinner.
RIGHT: Caribbean Hotelier of the Year 2007, managing director of Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Josef Forstmayr (centre), with Heinz Simonitsch (left) of Elegant Resorts and Camille Needham, executive director of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association. - Photos by Janet Silvera

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Josef Forstmayr was about to board an American Airlines flight from the Miami International Airport to Jamaica on Tuesday evening when his phone rang.

At the other end of the line was an anxious Alec Sanguinetti. "Josef, you can't board the flight," was the desperate plea from the executive director of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA). "We have no one else here to present one of the most important awards at the Gala and Awards Presentation on behalf of Jamaica, please come back to the hotel."

The rest is history. Fortsmayr, the managing director of the elegant Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a man dearly loved and admired by his peers, cancelled his trip and returned to the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown Miami, to represent the country he has come to call home - Jamaica.

As Sanguinetti announced the name Josef Fortsmayr the '2007 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year' during the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Conference (CHTC) gala and dinner, Forstmayr was shocked out of his wits, conceding to being tricked.

He also knew without a doubt that he had joined the ranks of the region's most distinguished hoteliers, as he got up from his chair and made his way onstage to accept the Golden Conch that had touched the hands of 29 other regional giants, among them five Jamaican hoteliers, Elegant Resorts' Heinz Simonitsch, SuperClubs' John Issa and Jag Mehta, Sandals Resorts Internationals' Gordon 'Butch' Stewart and the late Ken Kennedy.

"The Golden Conch is given to persons who have reached the pinnacle of their achievements," said Sanguinetti, but that was a word Forstmayr refused to concede. "I am much too young to use the word pinnacle to describe my career."

Signs of greater things

For the hotelier who came to Jamaica years ago on vacation and fell in love with the island, this latest accolade points to greater things.

As fantastic as the audience felt when the tourism maestro held up the Golden Conch, the night was young and there was far more excitement left in the bag.

And an introduction of the band, 'The Mighty Vikings' was definitely the icing on the cake.

With the energetic Oscar B at the helm and a reggae ambassador in the band that paid tribute to Gregory Isaac's Night Nurse, Tanya Stephens' It's a Pity complemented with a compilation of the best hits, Jamaica took centre stage at the closing party.

Not ones to be selfish, the night was shared with Taste of Caribbean master chefs and bartenders who copped silver, bronze and gold medals and fabulous trophies.

Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico were the big winners of the culinary competition, while Jamaica was a no-show at this year's event.