being greeted with a big smile and some warm words from veteran doorman, accomplished jazz musician and award-winning bus driver Mr. Leonard (Cookie) Rogers.

Mr. Rogers brought his merry presence to Hamilton this year after 17 years as head doorman at the Southampton Princess.

The 72-year-old retiree is now the doorman at less hectic Waterloo House, where he greets guests as well as passersby.

He has had much success in luring shoppers and city workers into Waterloo House for a harbour-side lunch, he said. He also arranges tours and suggests activities for guests at the hotel.

"I've been an ambassador for Bermuda for as long as I remember,'' he said. In the 1940s, Mr. Rogers, a harmonica player and singer, started up the Happy Four jazz band, playing in hotels and at private parties.

On a recent trip to Dallas with his wife Jocelyn, he was invited onto the stage by a jazz bandmaster who heard he was from Bermuda. "I rocked the house,'' he said.

He was a bus driver for 16 years, and to brighten up the ride, would lead sing-a-longs. A silver plate was presented to him for his outstanding service when he retired.

And the Speaker of the House of Assembly sent him a letter personally thanking him for the "superb'' job he did as an "ambassador for Bermuda'' while at the Southampton Princess and as a bus driver.

But Mr. Rogers was not content to stay at home, and decided to take his credo, given to him by his mother when he was 14, to the steps of Waterloo House.

That credo, is: "Always do what you want to do, but make sure you know what you are doing; It's nice to be important but it is most important to be nice.

Keep a smile on your face and love in your heart and you can not and will not go wrong.'' Mr. Rogers has made copies of his credo and handed them out to thousands of visitors and Bermudians alike.

AMBASSADOR COOKIE -- Waterloo House doorman Mr. Leonard (Cookie) Rogers brought his ever-present smile to Waterloo House after retiring from the Southampton Princess.