"Then" "Now" *** Bio last updated 11/28/08 ***
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Hello, My name is Bill Smelser, I am currently 46 years old, and I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
I work for Marriott Corporation as a Sales Coordinator.
But before I get more into what I am doing now and how I am now, let's begin with how I got here.
I was born in Pontiac, Michigan in the summer of 1962, the younger of twins.
I grew up in Michigan and lived there until I was 16. At that time, Bruce (my twin) and I moved with our mother to Oregon to live. It is in Oregon
that we graduated high school from a really nice, old, historic school called Corvallis High School,
a school that my grandmother, my mother and my Uncles all attended since 1929. "CHS" is a school full of academic and
athletic tradition, Bruce was involved in Swimming/Diving and I was involved in Student Government as well as Baseball (including State Championship
game in 1979 (thank you Harold Reynolds!)).
After graduation in 1980, Bruce & I both attended Oregon State University
for a limited time.
After accepting job with McDonald's upon my arrival in Oregon in 1978, I continued to work with them until 1989, when
divorce showed me a way to change my life dramatically.
In December, 1989, I chose to join the U.S. Navy,
specifically aboard submarines as a cook. My first submarine was the USS Topeka and my 2nd was the USS Louisville.
The Topeka was sponsored by Elizabeth Dole, so we were blessed to have Bob Dole and Elizabeth Dole on board the submarine
several times for dinner, which was a hoot. The USS Louisville, which was the first submarine to ever shoot a missile during wartime (Gulf War I), was visited
by members of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce each year, and they supplied us with lots of memorabilia from
the Kentucky Derby (glasses and such, ALL of which were inevitably broken into little pieces by the time we got back to port!).
After my tour of duty with the Navy, I left the service in December 1994 and started
with Marriott hotels at the San Diego Marina Marriott in February, 2005.
After spending a year in Reservations (me and 14 wonderful ladies!), I chose to relocate back to Michigan as a Front
Desk Agent/Supervisor at 3 different Marriotts over the next 2 years (Southfield, Ypsilanti and Livonia).
In Spring of 1998, I chose to tranfer myself (with promotion) to the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel in Ohio as the "Rooms
Controller". This was a great position as I was a one-man department, but still had to facilitate my efforts with just
about
every department (Housekeeping, Sales, Group, Banquets, Room Service). Also, this position gave me the flexibility to
return to college in 1999.
I started at Kent State University, which is famous for it's shootings in 1970, but still,
a beautiful
campus which reminded me a lot of Oregon State University. I continued to attend Kent State until my graduation in
December, 2001. I graduated Summa Cum Laude which was special for there were only 12 of us out of 680 graduating that
weekend. My mother
came from Oregon and my father came from Florida for the ceremony and I will remember it as the proudest moment of my
life so far. After leaving college in 1983 and having that degree hanging over my head for 16 years, to graduate with
high honors was
very satisfying and fulfulling. Although the special time was enveloped by the grey cloud of 9/11 just a few months
earlier, it was still a wonderful, happy day!
After graduating Kent State in December, 2001, I transferred Marriotts again ~ to Florida in July of 2002. I accepted a promotion to Front
Office Supervisor of 3-hotel complex in Orlando (Courtyard, SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn). My job was to be a Front
Office Supervisor
for all 3 hotels as well as Training Coordinator for all 3 front desk staffs. This was a wonderful opportunity to exhibit
my skills in leadership and teamwork as well as my customer-service skills.
After careful consideration, I chose to leave Marriott in Summer of 2004 to return home to Oregon (after being gone for 15
long years). I accepted an offer to rejoin McDonald's as a Manager and proceeded to relocate myself back to Keizer in
July of 2004.
After a couple years with McDonald's, I was approached in late 2006 to return to the Marriott family here in Atlanta, GA. I had previously worked with Jerry in Cleveland at the Renaissance Hotel as well as Elisa at the Marriott Village in Orlando. They were sitting down one day talking about stuff and realized they both knew me and that's when the offer was made for me to come join them. They are running a brand new SpringHill Suites property in the upscale community of Buckhead (Atlanta).
I arrived in Atlanta in Spring of 2007 and assumed the position of Kitchen Supervisor for a couple of months. Then in July, I was promoted to Sales Coordinator for the hotel. This is a wonderful position wherein I get to use my customer service skills as well as my organizational skills as I deal directly with clients who are renting meeting space
at the hotel. I detail their meetings including setup, audio/visual, food & beverage and any special needs.
In February, 2008, I received 2007 Administrative Employee of the Year from the Georgia Hotel Lodging Association.
As of this update, I am waiting
on my nomination for Marriott Employee of the Year 2008. Results will be announced in January, 2009.
An awards banquet will be held in Washington, D.C.
in March, 2009.
Well, that's my story, besides the little stuff like my love of country music, country dancing, golf, bowling and
softball. I am single but always looking for that special woman to share my humor and my generousity. Meanwhile,
I continue to be close to my
family (spread out over U.S.) as well as my good friends (also spread out over U.S.)
So please keep in touch!
~~~Bill