BRIEFLY IN BUSINESS

Bureau employee gets service award

The Orange County Tourism Council recognized eight tourism industry professionals for their efforts in creating positive experiences for visitors to Orange County at the recent Service Excellence Awards held April 10.

Carrianne Menna, of the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau, took home the award in the Convention & Visitors Bureaus’ category.

Menna started her career in tourism as a front desk clerk at an Anaheim hotel.

Menna now serves as office manager and concierge at the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau, a position she has held for two years.

Menna is known for going “above and beyond” in her dealings with the general public and visitors to Laguna Beach.

She has helped find change for a visitor who was left behind after a purchase, as well as assisting visitors with requests from transportation to lodging to baby-sitting services.

Ashley Johnson, marketing coordinator for the bureau, was one of three finalists in the category.

The Service Excellence Awards were established in 1998 to provide an opportunity for employers and patrons at tourism-related businesses to recognize star performers.

The program aims to create awareness of the value of customer service and elevate the standard of service throughout the county.

Laguna inn’s breakfast is a finalist

A breakfast recipe by Casa Laguna Inn & Spa’s Peter O’Keefe is one of five finalists in Select Registry: Distinguished Inns of North America’s first-ever culinary competition, “The Inn-Credible Breakfast Cook-Off.”

The contest is designed to recognize the best “Inn” breakfast in North America.

The finalist teams, which consist of innkeepers and/or chefs, will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals during a live cooking competition May 7 at Select Registry’s 35th Anniversary and Annual Conference. The conference will take place at the Coeur d’Alene Resort & Spa in Coeur d’Alene, ID.

O’Keefe’s entry, “Smoked Salmon Crepe Purse with Cream Cheese Dill Mousse and Fennel Oil,” will compete against a peach French toast dish; an Italian open-faced omelet sandwich; smoked mountain trout cakes; and an “a.m.-p.m.” breakfast with morning and evening foods combined.

Select Registry is a non-profit trade association representing more than 400 of inns, B&Bs;, and unique small hotels across North America.

The first-place winner will be awarded the grand prize, a C3 Turbochef oven. Additional prizes will be donated by sponsors including, Le Creuset, Steelite International America and Workman Publishing.

For more information on Select Registry, visit www.selectregistry.com.