As we reported in an earlier Notebook feature, this has been a great year for Mrs. Rosalind Basden of Main Road, Somerset, and it is getting bigger. She has been signally honoured "coming and going". And she has taken every bit of it in her stride.

This week she was at the Cabinet Office to receive a special honour from the Premier and Tourism Minister, Dr. Ewart Brown for being such a role model for her family and other Bermudians.

First of all she retired from work in January, after a career in the hospitality industry extending exactly fifty years.

In March at the VIP Belco Hospitality Dinner she walked away with the award as the best in the Waiters and Waitresses Category. She had been nominated by her by her erstwhile colleagues at the Cambridge Beaches Resort

And in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June she was awarded the Queens Badge and Certificate of Honour for her sterling service over the decades in the hospitality industry.

On her birthday, Rosalind's four children Michelle and Jill Roberts and Anthony and Kenny Basden went all out to show their mother how proud they are of her achievements. They laid on an afternoon tea for her at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel and invited about 100 of her equally proud neighbours and friends. Among them were her husband Leroy (Shilling) Basden and her first cousin, Allan Trew, J.P., Hotel Manager of Fairmont Hamilton Princess

Jill came home especially for the event from Norfolk, England where she was a school principal for many years before recently being appointed an administrator in the Norfolk school system.

Rosalind hails from a service-oriented family. She began her career at Cambridge Beaches in 1959, working alongside her mother Myrtle (Sis) Roberts, who was "tea lady" at the resort for 16 years. Rosalind remained there until her marriage in 1964 to Leroy.

After brief stints at the newly opened Pompano Beach Club in Southampton and the nearby US Naval Base, she returned to Cambridge in 1970, remaining there until her retirement in January.

Significantly Rosalind's two sisters Gwen Roberts Trew and Jean Roberts were inspired by their mother to become waitresses. Gwen retired after 35 years, mostly at Cambridge, where her former husband, the late Robert Trew Sr., began his career. Robert later moved to Coral Beach Club in Paget. Through his winning personality and business acumen, he invested the monies he earned in tourism and subsequently became one of the richest young black men in Bermuda.

Rosalind's sister Jean spent 28 years as a chambermaid at Lantana Club until it closed.

Even more significant is the fact that Gwen's son Allan Trew, JP, who is the hotel manager at Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, had no qualms about pursuing a career in the hotel industry like his elders. He started at Southampton Princess Hotel, worked in various departments, particularly on the front for some 18 years before he was recognised and groomed for top management.