The Connect_Winter Iss 2017 HiRes

COVER STORY
One Man’s Journey To Serve
WRITTEN BY: SHAWN WHITSELL
VICTOR BERRIOS WAS only five-years-old when his mom
brought he and his brother to Brooklyn, New York,
from Santurce, Puerto Rico, on a quest for a new life.
Berrios recalls growing up in a segregated New
York. Although he was well liked and got along well
with peers of all walks of life, he feels he didn’t fit in because he didn’t
want to belong to any one particular group. He liked being friends with
everyone. His heart for acceptance, diversity and inclusion would not
just serve him well in his personal life, but would manifest years later in
his professional life.
Although he loves the Big Apple and deeply appreciates his upbringing
and the education he received, Berrios wanted something more.
“I knew at an early age that I wanted to do something different,” he
said. “I didn’t want to stay in Brooklyn and raise a family. I wanted to
experience the world.”
Maybe it was the desire for something greater that led him to the U.S.
Army, where he served for over seven years before being honorably
discharged. He traded army uniforms and military bases for civilian
clothes and a college campus. He landed at the University of Colorado
in Colorado Springs, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer
Information Technology.
Later, Berrios parlayed his military experience and educational
background into the hotel business, where worked for over 25 years.
Afterwards, in the late 90’s, he and a partner invested in Harmony
Hospitality in Branson, Missouri. The pair successfully managed nine
hotels for various entities before Berrios sold his interest in the company,
and transitioned into vacation ownership. He opened resorts for the
Florida-based company and was later promoted to Regional General
Manager, with multiple hotels under his direction.
He then went on to open a furniture store in Seymour, TN before
purchasing the rights to the Jani-King franchise in Nashville and
later Memphis.
Though Berrios admits that he never imagine being in the hospitality
industry, he loves it and understands that just as he’s helped grow his
business, the business has also helped grow him.
“Once I was in it, I enjoyed the hospitality community. I enjoyed meeting
and talking to people all over the world, from different cultures, different
background,” he said. “I was actually growing as I was meeting these other
people. I became a sponge and that was intriguing to me. That line of work
gave me that opportunity and I really enjoyed that part of it.”
One of the many things Berrios enjoys about his job is the people and
the difference his company makes in the lives of all those associated with
it, which he considers to be the most rewarding aspect of his job.
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WINTER 2017 | THE CONNECT MAGAZINE 25