Peter Ohala Otieno – the left-hand certificate holders – is a recipient of the latest Above and Beyond Foundation’s US$10,000 grants. He is Portobello Deli attendant at Fairmont Chateau Whistler in Whistler BC. Now a Canadian citizen, he was born in Kenya, graduated from Kenya Utalii College in Food and Beverage, Service and Sales and started serving at Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi. He was inspired to move to Canada when then-GM of Fairmont Chateau Whistler Roger Soane came to Nairobi in 1995 to promote a Canadian food festival (‘the brochures he showed of Whistler sent me into a wild dream and now I am blessed because my wild dream became a reality after more than ten years’, says Otieno). Roger Soane is now President/CEO Whistler Sport Legacies.
Above and Beyond recognises hospitality professionals who go the extra mile – its board includes co-founder Thierry Kemel, Denver-based RVP Four Seasons, and Craid Reid, CEO Auberge. award citation notes that he and his pay tuition fees for three needy university students in Kenya. ‘Lifting others has been my blessings, the more I express my gratitude for what I have, the more likely I’ll have even more, to express gratitude for!’, says Peter Ohala Otieno.
