Not many ski area executive assistants spend time on cranes installing lights in mid-winter, but that’s exactly where you would have found Liz Ambrosino at Jiminy Peak, Mass., last season. When management expressed the desire to create romance at the base lodge, Ambrosino jumped in with a quick, “Sure, I’ll do that,” recalled her boss, area president Brian Fairbank. “She got on the phones, found a helluva deal on 13,000 lights, then spent a whole day on a crane directing the installation,” he said.
“I think she walks on water,” Fairbank summed up in a letter to SAM recommending Ambrosino for this feature. He describes her as tremendously organized, diligent and hard-working—rather staid terms—but in an interview, the soft-spoken Ambrosino revealed a ready smile, boundless energy and blithe enthusiasm for new challenges such as snowboarding. She and her husband bought a motorcycle last year, and she gleefully recounted the tale of riding in a motorcade of over 500 bikers for a Shriners charity. “It was a riot!” she exclaimed. “This year I really want to get my own license and ride.”
She expresses the same enthusiasm on the pages of a monthly employee newsletter she puts together, throwing in off-the-wall items like “Lessons from Geese” or tidbits of “Hancock Town Trivia.” But she doesn’t reserve her creativity just for major projects like the newsletter; even when typing up a notice, she said, she adds “a little bit of flair or humor to make it more interesting.”
Ambrosino came to Jiminy Peak in 1987. She started on the front desk, then moved on to the job of conference coordinator, which she held for five years. Donna Gaffey, a fellow executive assistant to vice-president Paul Maloney, said, “I didn’t really know Liz before she came to work for Brian, but when she was working in conference planning and needed anything from them, I wouldn’t call anyone else because I knew she would do it and do it right.”
“She didn’t show you her awards, did she?” Gaffey asked knowingly. “She’s probably one of the last people on property who would take credit for something.” Ambrosino just shrugged and grinned, belatedly pointing out the plaques and certificates adorning the bookcase behind her desk, which show that even if she doesn’t seek credit, her work speaks loudly enough to win plenty of recognition from others. Among Ambrosino’s accolades, a Massachusetts Governor’s Award given during her conference-planning years “For commitment and dedication to the hospitality industry,” hangs next to two Quality Service awards from Jiminy Peak declaring, “Do It Right the First Time. Every Time.”
But high standards aren’t easy to maintain working for Fairbank, a dynamic personality who, Ambrosino declared, “moves in 200 different directions at warp speed!” He admitted, “There are countless times when I can go off on a different tangent unexpectedly to find that Liz has helped to keep the prior assignment on course.”
Despite the varying directions that her wide-ranging responsibilities take her, the energetic Ambrosino sees it as an advantage. “What I’m doing is different every day and every season, so I really don’t get bored. That’s the best thing,” she explained. “Sure, I get to points where I go a little crazy, but I just laugh a little more when I reach those stress points, which makes it easier to just settle down and do what I need to do.”
Not only does Ambrosino do what she needs to do, her fellow employees say she is always ready to help others do what they need to do. “Everyone knows they can count on Liz,” Gaffey said. “I just had someone from our real estate department call looking for her—they were stuck on a computer question. She’ll stop in the middle of something and help you out and she never gets frustrated. Even if she’s swamped, she’ll take the time to make sure you understand what she showed you.”
“I think it’s just Liz’s type of personality that stays upbeat when the rest of us are asking if winter is over yet,” said Gaffey. “I can’t remember any time when I’ve seen her lose it or say ‘I give up!’”
“I don’t see problems,” explained Ambrosino. “I see things as challenges—exciting instead of negative, which makes any job easier. You’re going to be here anyway once you’ve decided to do a job, so why not make the best of it for yourself and everybody you work with?”
“It helps to be open-minded and flexible,” she continued, “Not being stuck with old ways or your way, but seeing all sides and being able to change at a moment’s notice.”
Fairbank concluded his letter to SAM with these words about Ambrosino: “She may not appear on an organizational chart, be directly in charge of a large staff of people or have direct contact with any guests, but this individual most certainly has a significant impact on the entire organization. Thanks for a wonderful opportunity to publicly say, ‘Thank you, Liz!’”
