Sampson Nabigon drove a distressed guest at the Crowne Plaza Hotel home to Belleville.
Sampson Nabigon says he did what he felt needed to be done for a distraught guest at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. What the guest needed was transportation to get back to her family in Belleville after her father’s sudden death. So Nabigon volunteered to drive her home.
As a result of his good deed, Nabigon, a bellman at the hotel on Lyon Street, was awarded Ottawa Tourism’s 2009 Star of the City award.
On the night of June 3, Nabigon says he saw a guest getting upset at the front desk so he approached her to see if there was anything he could do to help. The woman’s father had died suddenly and she wanted to be home with her family as soon as possible.
“I just felt like something needed to be done. I felt really bad,” says Nabigon. “That’s all I was thinking about was that she needs to get home, something needs to be done.”
Nabigon tried unsuccessfully to find a bus or train leaving that evening for Belleville. He then suggested to the guest that she rent a car which he would first drive to Belleville then back to Ottawa and the woman gratefully accepted.
After Nabigon’s shift they left for the three-hour drive to Belleville, and after dropping the woman off, he turned around and drove right back to Ottawa – about a 500-km roundtrip.
Every year the Ottawa Tourism Stars of the City committee collects nominations from both tourists and local residents who have been impressed by the service of frontline hospitality workers.
Nabigon was among a record 1,452 nominations for the awards.
His story deeply touched the members of the awards selection committee, who gave him top points throughout the process, says Erica Andersen, executive director of membership at Ottawa Tourism.
“[It’s] a very human story where I think all of us can relate to the fact that we all know people who have been in a very tragic situation where your family’s affected and you just need to be with them,” Andersen says.
It was not just the judges on the committee who were touched by Nabigon’s actions, but all of the people who attended the Oct. 28 recognition evening at Algonquin College and heard his story.
Nabigon’s wasn’t the only touching story heard that evening.
Winners of other awards include Luc Berthelette of the Canadian War Museum who was able to reunite a father and son at home for Christmas, Tariq Waheed of West-Way Airport Taxi who returned 60 Euros a traveller had dropped in his cab before she realized it was missing, and Vera Mahoney of the Ottawa International Airport Authority who ensured a Korean girl arrived safely in Lansing, Michigan after she mistakenly boarded a flight to Ottawa.The big win for Nabigon has been beneficial to hotel staff as well.
Even those at the hotel who were unable to attend the gala have seen a boost in morale thanks to Nabigon’s award, says Christine Grace, hotel manager at the Crowne Plaza. She says Nabigon has always helped guests in any way he can.
“Sampson always has the guest foremost in his mind. He takes care of making everyone have an extra special stay while they’re here with us and he’s always anticipating their needs,” Grace says, adding that hotel staff are very proud of him.
Nabigon’s actions can be a lesson in kindness for all because he was able to make so many others happy with his good deed, Grace says.
Through the whole experience, an award was not something he was expecting, nor did he mind if he won or not, Nabigon says.
That’s not what motivated him to help a stranger in need, he says.
“I did it just because that’s the type of person I am.”