Barry Simmons will never leave a job incomplete. An example of this is one time on a freezing, rainy winter night, Barry had stayed late for a guest that was checking in. The guest came in to check-in and realized that she had locked her keys in her motorcoach. She was distraught because her husband who had ALS was locked inside. It was late on a Sunday night and we were having trouble finding a locksmith. Barry stayed with the guest after working an 8-hour day to keep her calm even after we told him that we would take care of it. Barry, Dewayne, and I spent over 2 hours on the phone trying to get a hold of locksmiths and emergency services. Barry always puts our guests first and is employee that we can always count on.
We first met Barry when we were looking to buy our campground. He was a campground employee who had already worked for two previous owners. His love for the campground was apparent and we asked for him to continue working for us after we purchased the property. Soon afterward, we decided to convert our park to a KOA. Mr. Simmons embraced being part of KOA and loves representing the yellow. When Barry learned about KOA Rewards and KOA Care Camps, he enthusiastically supported both programs. He made it his mission to create lifelong KOA guests by selling Rewards cards daily. In the past year and a half since we joined the KOA family, Barry has sold over 288 Rewards Cards and has made it a friendly competition with his co-workers. In total, our small campground has sold over 770 cards under Barry’s leadership. He has dressed as Santa Claus and has also taken a pie to the face in order to raise money. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he leads his colleagues by example.
“Mr. Simmons” as he is known to his co-workers and our guests, provides exceptional customer service. He spends time with each guest a check-in, making them feel special. He makes sure that each guest knows that we are here to serve them and will often make follow-up calls to customers that he has served. We get written compliments for Mr. Simmons on a weekly basis through email, KOA, and Google reviews. NOMINATION #1’s co-workers love him also. He is kind and helpful to his fellow workers. Last year for Halloween, all of our employees and workampers decided to dress up as “Mr. Simmons” because the joke is that everyone loves Barry and he does everything on the campground.
Barry really does a lot on our campground. He is our afternoon front desk attendant, DirectTV installer, internet expert, and escort extraordinaire. Having been working at the campground for almost 10 years, his knowledge is invaluable. He is also adored by all dog owners. Barry started a daily morning meet-up for dogs who like playing with other dogs at Kamp K9. It is called Paw Patrol and it is very well attended. Mr. Simmons will even pick up dogs on his golf cart!
As an employer, what I appreciate most about Barry is his commitment. I know that I can always depend on him even as both he and his wife have health challenges. Barryalways comes to work on time, loving his job, and caring for even the most difficult people. We know that when Barry is working the campground is in good hands.
