Gloria Blackmore

Gloria arrived at Huka Lodge on September 30, 1988, for her first day in Housekeeping. More than 37 years later, she is the lodge’s longest-serving team member and its unofficial living encyclopedia. She even still has her original employment contract, which lists her starting wage at $7.86 an hour. In the decades since, Gloria has watched Huka evolve while becoming one of the people who knows it best.

Ask where something belongs in a room, what’s missing from a setup, or how something has traditionally been done, and Gloria is the person to call. Her colleagues affectionately think of her as Huka’s real-life BIMS, a human reference point for the countless details that make the lodge run as it should. She’s also an expert in the laundry, a skilled seamstress, and a calm, capable hand wherever she’s needed. After nearly four decades, Gloria’s contribution can be found in details guests may never notice, but that have helped make Huka Lodge feel like Huka Lodge for generations.