Staff celebrate long-service milestones

Carol Bowes, Ragdale Hall’s longest-serving member of staff celebrates 40 years’ service this month.  Carol (pictured, third from right) joined when she was 19 and for the majority of time has worked in the Laundry and Housekeeping teams.

Carol met her partner of 15 years, Carl, at Ragdale (and Carl himself worked here for 30 years before retiring in 2007).

Carol says: “It is a great place to work. The Hall itself is a lovely building and I love meeting the variety of guests we get at the Hall – I feel lucky to be a part of it all.”

David Hamdorff, Managing Director (pictured, left) celebrated 25 years at Ragdale recently.  David was part of the London-based team advising prospective owners (Garry Nesbitt and Michael Isaacs) on the purchase of Ragdale in 1990.  His relationship with them both developed, and seeing the potential of Ragdale convinced David to move to Melton to join them in the venture.

The Hall itself, under David’s guidance, has seen massive developments over that time.

David said: “One thing that hasn’t changed is the incredible passion of the employees and all those associated with the business, and I’m proud that Ragdale has become an established part of the Melton community.”

Personnel Director, Allison Garner (pictured, second left), also joined in 1990 and recalls the dedication of the staff to the business during uncertain times. She said: “There were challenges in the early days. There was a period of financial difficulty and employees chose to donate their tips to Ragdale to help get through it – such a demonstration of  team spirit makes you realise you’re part of something special.”

Allison’s other memories of the early days include American rock band Aerosmith’s visit, which involved tucking in to fish and chips in the Garden Room!

The trio are joined by Michael Isaacs, Penny Nesbitt and Head Gardener Andrew Nicolson, all of whom have celebrated 25 years at Ragdale this year.