Key Lime Cove employee wins hospitality industry award

GURNEE - Bilphi George, an employee of Key Lime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort in Gurnee, recently received the Maintenance Employee of the Year award from the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association.

George was among those honored by the IHLA at its annual Stars of the Industry statewide awards luncheon, which honors the best of Illinois' 35,000 hospitality workers and organizations.

IHLA President and CEO Marc J. Gordon said that because of employees such as Bilphi George, Illinois tourism is booming: There were 109.4 million visitors to Illinois last year, up 105.7 million from 2013. The $36.3 billion in 2014 travel expenditures was 5 percent more than the previous year.

George is dedicated to his work, coming in on his days off to insure a project is completed on time. He is always willing to lend a helping hand to other departments when they need assistance.

More than 99 million domestic visitors and 2 million international visitors chose to spend time in Illinois, spending about $85 million a day with Illinois businesses. Visitors' spending saves an average Illinois household over $1100 in taxes each year and directly supports 298,700 jobs in the state.

One in 10 jobs in Illinois is directly or indirectly supported by travel expenditures.

The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association comprises more than 500 hotels throughout the state of Illinois. The association represents hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities that employ thousands of associates throughout the state. IHLA member hotels provide good-paying jobs with great benefits to their associates, and IHLA has several programs to help recognize the contributions of those employees and to provide them with training programs to assist in their career advancement opportunities.