Roy Chandler loves people. Working as a security officer at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Chandler makes the most of everyday that he goes to work and enjoys every opportunity that he gets to help customers and visitors to the casino. This mindset has shown through as Chandler was honored at the South Shore Convention & Visitor’s Authority - R.O.S.E. Awards presentation in 2016.
When a guest visits Ameristar Casino, Chandler might be the first person they meet. It is up to employees like him to make the customer's visit enjoyable. The R.O.S.E. Awards were created to honor front-line employees such as Chandler, who are the "directors of first impression," and who consistently work hard to make their guest’s visit an enjoyable one.
Originally from East Chicago but now living in Merrillville, Chandler has always had an upbeat personality.
“I’ve always been an outgoing person so this job has really been an avenue for me to talk with and get to know people,” Chandler said. “That’s just my personality. I’m a people person so it’s not hard for me to get together with the people that visit our casino.”
Chandler has been with Ameristar Casino since 2011 and, as a security officer, he has quite a lot of interaction with guests to the casino.
“As a security officers we like to greet people and get to know our customers,” he said. “It’s advantageous for us in many ways because if something does occur we already have a good rapport with people already.”
Chandler has been on-hand at nearly every promotion for Ameristar over the last five years and his abilities to keep things flowing smoothly have landed him the title of “Promo-King” within the organization.
“Like I said, I’m a people person so I enjoy talking with the customers in line and making the time go by for them so before they know it they’re already through the line,” Chandler said. “It keeps everything running smooth and I really enjoy the promos. It’s an avenue for me to get to know other people and get conversations going.”
These abilities - in combination with Chandler’s personality and attitude - are what earned him the R.O.S.E. Award recognition, an honor that he was not at all expecting.
“It caught me totally off guard!” he said of being surprised with the nomination while at work. “It was a very exciting moment for me because they definitely blindsided me with it. To know that people really see what you’re actually doing, and to be rewarded for it, was a very positive experience for me.”
Chandler, and his wife, have taken full advantage of the gifts that they received at the awards presentation.
“I’m married, so a lot of the perks involved going out to restaurants which we took advantage of,” Chandler said. “It was a nice bonus! I brought my wife to the event which was nice because I try to spend as much time with family as I can.”
“It was amazing how they honor people with these awards and it gives other people motivation to achieve these kinds of things,” he added.
Chandler is the chief training officer at Ameristar and the biggest thing that he instills in new officers is to have a positive attitude. Putting forth your best effort every day and taking pride in your work are important to Chandler. Everyone has good and bad days but Chandler is honored to be a part of such a great team.
“Ameristar has such a good rapport with their employees,” said Chandler. “They take advantage of your strengths and try to bring up your weaknesses. Not at all in a bad way but to make you a stronger individual, a stronger employee and to help out the company and yourself.”
“They give us an opportunity to display ourselves,” he continued. “If you don’t overcome your obstacles, you’ve got a long road ahead. I try to get everyone in a positive state-of-mind. We have very strong team members and we have very strong leaders in our department so you can go to them with anything. They care, they listen, and they actually try to do something to help you which people appreciate. When you know someone’s got your back you tend to put forth a stronger effort.”
South Shore Convention & Visitor’s Authority - R.O.S.E. and R.I.S.E. Award nominations for front-line and managerial employees are accepted year-round at www.rose-awards.com.
