“He’s the guy you want in the room when you have a tight turnover. He never panics. He gets the job done. He’s also the guy you want to call ‘friend.’” Associate after associate mimic these words. “He’s the guy.”
Rene Acarapi is a native of Bolivia, South America but has called the United States “home” for eighteen years. The last nine years he has graced the halls of the Providence Marriott with his compassion, empathy and quest for truly exceptional service. Each day is an opportunity for Rene’ to make someone feel very important. He has that gift.
When the lazy bones were handed out, Rene’ must have been absent because he does not have one in his entire body. He is a whirlwind of activity…completing his tasks and then jumping in to help someone else complete theirs. Rene’ would never dream of just holding down one job. “I love to work!” he proclaims with pride.
The Journey has become a way of life for Rene’. It has taught him how to organize his work and why certain tasks are better than others…working toward a common goal with his team. “I am on The Journey because I believe in what it teaches,” he shares enthusiastically. “I have seen how it can change people for the better. I take the principles home, teaching my children how to be good people and to respect one another as well as the people around them.” Rene’ and his beautiful wife, Luz are parents to four wonderful children. They practice the tool of identifying learning opportunities and grabbing them. Rene’ has a degree in Accounting. Daughter, Reyna has a degree in Computer Science. His wife is attending school presently, studying English. Daughter, Natalie is studying to be a paralegal. And Laura is in seventh grade and her brother Benjamin is in fifth grade.
Family is important to Rene’ and his definition of family goes beyond his own home. When a fellow houseman recently lost his father, Rene’, without being prompted, reorganized his own schedule to fill in and give the associate some extra time off to take care of matters. Rene’ did this even without putting himself into overtime. He often checked in on his peer…not to see when he was coming back, but to ensure he was doing okay and to offer assistance. After all… he’s the guy. |
