THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608130135
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: CLOSE-UP
LENGTH: 69 lines
Chances are, if you work in the hotel business in Virginia Beach you have heard of Mary Jo Greene, director of marketing and sales at the Ramada Plaza Resort Oceanfront.
If there's a convention to be organized or simply a meeting room reserved, Greene probably has a hand in it. For nine years, starting as a desk clerk, Greene has worked persistently and thoughtfully to now rank among the resort area's most accomplished sales directors.
Gracious to a fault and forever wearing a smile, Greene blushes at the thought of taking credit for her success, pointing instead to David ``Dippy'' Pender, the hotel's managing partner/general manager, or her great friend Carol Guy, who hired her.
Through it all she has learned one lasting truth about hotel work: she does not want to own one. Given her druthers, she'd rather hop in her kayak and hit the water.
Full name: Mary Jo Greene.
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
What brought you to the Beach? After living in Pittsburgh for over 20 years, the beach brought me to the Beach.
Birthdate: Sept. 25, 1962.
Occupation: Director of sales and marketing, Ramada Plaza Resort, Oceanfront.
Nickname: Mojo.
Marital status: Married.
Children: Yellow Lab, Maggie, and cat, Chesterfield.
What is your idea of a perfect day off? Back packing on any mountain, anywhere!
Last smart thing you did: Marry my best friend Chris Greene.
Last dumb thing you did: Got Chris interested in photography. It's cost us a bloody fortune. He bought a camera, lenses, three tripods, a zillion filters, cases and now he wants a slide projector.
Favorite meal: Flank steak on the grill, medium rare with a good bottle of red wine and lots of friends.
Favorite movies: ``Shawshank Redemption,'' ``Legends of the Fall,'' ``Forrest Gump.''
Favorite song: ``Unforgettable'' (Nat King Cole).
Last book read: ``The Runaway Jury,'' by John Grisham.
Hobbies: Travel, photography, kayaking.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Motivate myself to exercise seriously for 30 minutes a day every day.
If you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be? Why would you want to marry someone if you wanted to change them? Can you tell we're still newlyweds?
Secret vice: Chocolate.
Favorite restaurant: Gus' Mariner - there is no way I can say anything else.
Your favorite night on the town: Wednesday night at Rockafeller's or an evening with my friends at the South Beach.
Favorite TV shows: None.
Favorite sport: Kayaking.
Last vacation: Two weeks in Germany and Switzerland where we hiked in the Alps.
Worst job: Selling business systems. They were color-coded business files. Pure cold calling. Pure door to door. Pure hell.
Of what achievements are you most proud? Some of our hikes have been pretty cool. One was kayaking 18 miles in Gloucester. Then there was the hike in Yosemite National Park where we hiked up 3,000 feet in one day.
What would you like as your epitaph? That is such a stupid question. It's like when Barbara Walters asks, ``If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH by CNB