Durban - When Freddy Pather started working at the Edward Hotel in Durban 55 years ago, it struck him that he had found a life career, and he has never left.
Hard work and dedication have earned 69-year-old Pather an international award from the hotel group that now owns the hotel.
On May 4 he will jet off to the US to receive the J Willard Marriott Award of Excellence in Washington, DC.
The trip outside the country and receiving a prestigious award are firsts for the man who lives in Verulam.
“I started out at that young age because I needed to contribute financially to the family ... that prompted my lifetime of work in the hotel industry,” he said.
Pather admitted that he had little memory of the day in 1961 when he was employed, except that he fell in love with his job as he interacted with people of various international cultures who spoke many different languages.
He could not recall what his salary was then.
He was 16 and at school when his relatives, who were already working for the hotel, urged him to seek employment. He was first employed part-time, working on holidays and weekends, but later started working after school.
“Once I had completed my schooling, I was offered a permanent position as night switchboard operator,” he said.
The hotel was not part of the Protea group then. “It was (part of) African Amalgamated Hotels, then it was a Langham Edgewood Group Hotel. It also had an Afrikaans name that I can no longer remember,” he said.
The people Pather had interacted with included IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whom he found warm and friendly.
“We would greet each other in the lift whenever he visited,” he said.
He had fond memories of New York senator Robert Kennedy’s visit to the hotel in the 1960s. He met Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, when they visited.
“Despite coming from a family recognised and revered all over the world, they were very humble and warm. I have always treasured the tie pin that Mr Kennedy gave me, and I have kept it for all these years as a precious memento,” he said.
The J Willard Marriott Award of Excellence is the premier award available to associates within the Marriott group.
The Mercury