A house kept well: Carol retires after 40 good years

IT’s getting harder to find anyone who has stayed in the same job for more than 30 years, let alone 40, but Carol Wright is one such person.

The very experienced housekeeper at Sovereign Park Motor Inn, Golden Point has just retired – with plenty of fanfare – after four good decades.

Ask Wright, and you’ll find out straight away that they were “good” years.

“They have been wonderful people to work with,” Wright said.

“They have been like family to me, and still are. I always just enjoyed going to work.”

Owner-operator Tim Canny was just three years old when Wright joined the staff team in 1986. His dad, Peter Canny, was owner-manager at the time.

The motel has expanded and evolved considerably since, and through it all Wright became more than an exemplary housekeeper, said Canny whose grandparents Leo and Elaine Canny were the motel’s original owner-operators.

Wright also became a mentor for other staff, setting an excellent standard.

“Carol looked after people. She took new team members under her wing, supported them as they learned their roles and helped create an environment where people felt welcome and respected,” he said.

“Across 40 years of service, I cannot recall her once calling in sick. Her reliability became something the entire team could count on.”

Wright, 78, said that while she always enjoyed her work, effort was definitely required to ensure rooms were in top notch order to receive guests.

“It can be fairly heavy work at times and constant,” she said.

“If you don’t want to do your own housework at home you don’t have to, but when you’re in a motel situation you have to do it properly every day.

“We were always told from the beginning that you have to leave a room just the way you would like to find it yourself if you were walking in to stay.”

Over the years she made plenty of good lifelong friends and found that every day brings its own interest in the accommodation sector.

Staff and management joined Wright at a special event in recent days to celebrate her 40 years of service, and wished her well in a retirement that’s shaping up to feature social gatherings and lots of time in the garden.