Dot says goodbye to ‘the Jimmy’
From runaway brides to a twohour morning tea with Elton John, Dorothy ‘‘Dot’’ Collis has seen it all in her 45-year career at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor.
Since joining the company at the front desk in 1972 after being chosen from 3000 applicants, Collis worked her way up to events manager.
She has hosted heads of states and celebrities in her time with the hotel, but it was helping ordinary couples tie the knot that was her favourite part of the job.
On February 28 she will say goodbye to the ‘‘Jimmy Cook’’ to travel the world. She will take with her fond memories of the opportunity to explore so ‘‘many different jobs without leaving the building’’.
Working in the hotel business presented something new every day and gave staff a glimpse into the intimate lives of guests, Collis said.
She had spent hundreds of hours on making sure weddings would go off without a hitch. ‘‘I won’t half do a wedding.’’ She was never far away from her emergency wedding kit complete with hairpins, hair spray and pantyhose in her 18 years as conference and events manager at the hotel.
On one occasion a bridal party’s pageboy had turned up with an oversized suit and it was too late to change it.
After a ‘‘hysterical phone call from the bride’’ she found the boy and ‘‘stood the kid on the table and cut the trousers off’’.
‘‘[You] better pray I can cut straight,’’ she told him.
Some of the couples have come back to see her over the years, with new family members in tow.
Born and bred in Wellington, growing up in Newtown and Island Bay, Collis now lives in Wallaceville.
But she has no plans of settling down just yet with a long list of new things she wants to do and places she wants to discover.
Her final day with the hotel will be on , February 28 and after that she plans to visit a friend in Spain and travel around the Mediterranean.
Ashley Campbell has been with the company almost five years and has been training with Collis for the past six months to take on the new role.
The James Cook Hotel was established in 1972 named after Captain James Cook, who first sighted New Zealand in 1796 on the Endeavour. It has been part of the Hotel Grand Chancellor Group since 2001.