By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 2021 – In response to a recent post on Facebook by Celi Moss, whose late father Polo Moss was a very close friend, I mentioned the fact that Polo “was one of the cadre of excellent professionals involved in the hospitality industry back in the 1960s who helped to establish The Bahamas’ reputation as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations that is still very much a fact today.”
This comment elicited a number of responses from some other former “giants” in the hospitality industry who knew Polo when he worked at the Nassau Beach Hotel in the 1960s and 1970s, and they all agreed that “he was one of the best hospitality veterans in that era,” as Kelly Burrows noted in his response.
A well-respected hospitality industry professional in Grand Bahama for many years, Burrows attended Eastern Junior and Senior High School in Nassau. He supplemented his education by attending seminars with the Bahamas Hotel Training College; the American Hotel and Lodging Association Educational Institute, where he successfully completed and was certified as a Hospitality Department Trainer In 2004; and at Cornell University in New York, where he obtained certification in Applied Food and Beverage Technical Objectives.
Burrows began his career In the hospitality industry at the Montague Beach Hotel in Nassau before moving on to the Nassau Beach Hotel. He subsequently worked at Loews Hotel on Paradise Island, returning to The Nassau Beach In 1971 before relocating to Freeport in 1973. However, his first job in Freeport was not in the hotel industry, but as a timekeeper at Hersant Ballist “Burma’s Oil,” where he worked for four years.
In 1977, Burrows was hired by Holiday Inn as Food Service Manager, and in 1979 he was offered a position at the Princess Towers as Senior Assistant Food and Beverage Manager. In 1981 he was promoted to Regional Senior Assistant Food and Beverage Manager, with total responsibility of all restaurants, banquet functions, and conventions catering sections for both the hotel and casino.
He remained with Princess for 25 years, subsequently joining Tropical Shipping in 2004 as Island Manager for four years before retiring due to health challenges. However, he served as a consultant for two years.
Burrows served on the Board of Directors for Bahamasair for four years, the Bahamas Development Bank for three years, and was an initial Director for RND Entertainment and Theaters.
An avid Anglican, he has been a member of the Pro Cathedral of Christ The King for the past 47 years. He has served on the Vestry for 15 years and was the first President of the Social Outreach Committee.
He is married to Angela “McKinney” Burrows and they have two children, Kelly Jr and Kenda.
Kelly’s son from his first marriage, Dillon, is following in his footsteps in the hospitality industry, having started at the Princess after graduating High School, later moving to Our Lucaya and then to Bimini Bay serving in Food and Beverage Management. He subsequently relocated to Nassau at Atlantis as Beverage Manager. He recently completed a four-week course on wines at Napa Valley Distributors in California and presently at the Pointe as Beverage Manager.
