The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) recently recognized Derick Hendy and Vianny Godoy, two outstanding Belizeans, for their dedication, hard work and excellent service to Belize, as part of its Frontline Hero Award program. Both persons received their awards last week from the Hon. Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism & Diaspora Relations.
Meet Frontline Hero – Derick Hendy
Derick Hendy is a park ranger with the Belize Audubon Society and is stationed at the Crooked Tree Village Wildlife Sanctuary. At the Sanctuary, he is involved in Community and Education Outreach programs, research, bird monitoring, water level recording, water bird survey, maintenance of the protected area, water and land patrols, and meeting and greeting local and foreign visitors. Derick is also the founder of the first Junior Bird Club in Crooked Tree Village and surrounding areas, which aims to educate the youth on the importance of birds to our environment.
Derick has been working in conservation, sustainable development and tourism for almost three decades. Ambitious, enthusiastic, self-motivated, reliable, responsible, honest, hard working, and always willing to go the extra mile, are some of his personal traits.
“The BTB Frontline Hero Award makes me feel surprised and good at the same time. It is motivation and a boost of confidence for me to do even greater things in the future,” Derick shared.
Meet Frontline Hero – Vianny Godoy
At the tender age of 30 years, Vianny Godoy is already a consummate professional and a stellar employee at the Institute of Archaeology. She currently works as a Ticket Clerk at the Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve near her native village of San Jose Succotz in the Cayo District.
“Ms. Godoy is a very reliable and friendly frontline personnel at Xunantunich. She has consistently demonstrated dependability, professionalism, and politeness with assisting visitors and in working with her colleagues at the site. She is very humble and is always smiling and willing to go the extra mile in accomplishing her assigned tasks,” said Dr. Melissa M. Badillo, Director of the Institute of Archaeology.
In her role, Vianny documents and monitors visitor arrivals, assists with queries, and provides the best customer service to visitors, ensuring they always have a positive experience upon arrival at Xunantunich.
“I am honoured to be recognized as one of BTB’s Frontline Heroes and grateful for the recognition of my dedication to my work. I take pride in the work I do. I aim to do my work to the best of my ability; to give our tourists the best service and to be a positive inspiration to all the women, whom I impact on a daily basis,” Vianny shared.
The BTB congratulates both Derick and Vianny for their outstanding contribution to Belize. As their award, both received a $1,500 cash donation courtesy of the BTB and a two night stay package at Falling Leaves Lodge and El Ben Cabañas, respectively. We also take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to both properties for graciously sponsoring their hotel stays.
About the Award
The BTB’s Frontline Hero Award program was established in 2021 to recognize outstanding Belizeans who have served Belize beyond their call of duty. This program is operated in collaboration with tourism stakeholders who have been generous in contributing packages to the honorees. Stakeholders wishing to contribute a package towards the Frontline Hero Award Program can contact BTB’s Public Relations Unit via email at [email protected] or Tel: 227-2420.
