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29
Oct 2023
Harrogate hotel employee rewarded for 35 years' service
A long-serving employee at one of Harrogate’s best-known hotels was joined by colleagues recently to mark a major career milestone.
Dave Johnson, who is events operations manager at the Majestic Hotel, celebrated 35 years in the job with prosecco and a cake baked by his wife Joanne, who is sous chef there.
He was also presented with a special golden ‘35 years’ pin-badge and given a two-day stay at the Redworth Hall Hotel near his hometown in County Durham.
He said:
When Dave first started work at the hotel, the world was a very different place. The Cold War had yet to thaw, the digital revolution hadn’t even begun, and Margaret Thatcher was in No 10. In fact, she visited the Majestic twice as Prime Minister when Dave was there. He said:
Mrs Thatcher was far from the only VIP Dave has met over the course of his career at the hotel. He met England cricketing hero Ian Botham on his first day in the job and has met lots of other famous people since then, including Prince Charles, Rudolph Giuliani, Lenny Henry, Princess Anne, Rick Astley and many others.
In 1988, the hotel was owned by Trusthouse Forte and changed hands several times until it was finally bought by the Cairn Group in 2016 and rebranded as the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa. Dave said:
Dave may have put in a long stint at the Majestic, but at 53, he’s not ready to quit any time soon. He said:
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