Lodging manager wins Army-level award

By Andrea Sutherland (Fort Carson)January 10, 2013

Lodging manager wins Army-level award
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Since securing a job at a restaurant at Hanna-Barbera Land north of Houston at 16, Stephanie Camp has tended to the needs of others. Nearly three decades after her first job, she continues her work in customer service, managing the Colorado Inn and serving Soldiers and their loved ones.

"I've always been in the hospitality industry," she said. "It's fun working with people and getting to know people."

For her consistent devotion to serving others, Camp earned the 2012 Army Lodging Manager of the Year award.

"When I first heard, I was in shock," she said.

Installation Management Command officials critiqued Camp and her team in six areas including customer focus and improved services, employee focus, team player, continuous improvement, financial performance and leadership. IMCOM representatives also completed an onsite inspection.

"It was very rigorous," she said.

In addition to being nominated for Lodging Manager of the Year, Camp's team had nominations for Lodging Operation of the Year, Supervisor of the Year and Employee of the Year, but did not take home the top title in those categories.

For Camp, earning Lodging Manager of the Year is a reflection of her strong team of employees."This is a team award," she said. "This is not an award for one person."

"Stephanie is one of the most dedicated, attention-to-detail person that I have ever had the pleasure of working with," said Steave Barness, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Business Operations Division chief. "It's the little things she does day-to-day that makes the difference."

After receiving her bachelor's degree in hospitality and restaurant management from the University of Houston, Camp chose to take a club management internship with DFMWR. In 1991, she moved to Fort Belvoir, Va., and began her career with the officers' club.

Eight years later, Camp took a position with Fort Carson, managing the Elkhorn Conference Center and within her first year, she brought the fledgling operation from a deficit to a positive net income, according to an IMCOM press release.

The International Military Community Executives' Association recognized Camp with the James A. Carroll Award Club Manager of the Year in 2001, an honor she considers among her highest accomplishments.

"It recognized the things I've tried to accomplish throughout my career," she said, adding that the award not only recognized her efforts to improve guests' experience, but also her dedication to her employees.

Seven years after arriving at Fort Carson, Camp accepted an additional position as the lodging manager, performing both jobs for more than four years.

In 2011, she took on the responsibility as the deputy chief for the Fort Carson DFMWR Business Operations Division. In addition to her duties as Army Lodging manager, Camp oversees the Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club, Thunder Alley Bowling Center, Elkhorn Conference Center and the Foxhole/Hub Community Club.

According to an IMCOM release, as the deputy chief, Camp trains and mentors business managers on financial and variance analysis, budget preparation, cost controls, personnel management and the development of food, beverage and entertainment programming.

For all of her accomplishments, Camp said she knows she would not have been recognized had it not been for the strong team of 40 employees that support her. Even after winning the Army Lodging Manager of the Year, Camp said it was a team effort.

"This award says so much about my team," said Camp. "I could not win this award alone."