Grand Hotel Employee Celebrates 50 Years as an Employee
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
March 30, 2026
FAIRHOPE, Ala. An employee of the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa is celebrating fifty years as an employee of the resort.
Lillie Thomas began working as a dishwasher at the hotel in May 1975, but her start date in the computer system marks her first day on March 1976. Either way, she’s been a faithful employee for a very, very, long time.
During her employment, Thomas has worked in several positions including as a “Serverette,” a breakfast line cook, an omelet cook and a lead cook in the banquet kitchen. She also worked in the pantry as well as the commissary kitchen.
Now, she trains cooks and chefs at the hotel.
Thomas isn’t the first of her family members to work at the Grand. Her mother and father worked at the hotel before she did. Other family members who have worked at the hotel include six of her sisters, her sons, and three of her great-nephews.
Hotel management said they will be dedicating a tree in Thomas’s honor.
“A tree is a perfect symbol for her legacy,” said hotel management. “It represents strength, growth, and something that continues to give long after it is planted. It will stand here for generations — just like the impact Lillie has had on this resort and the people who work here.”
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