Highlights include the opening keynote speech by Raul Leal, who discussed the revolutionary vision of the newly formed Virgin Hotels; an in-depth look at the branding and creation of the award-winning Iron
Orlando, FL – February 07, 2011 — Roughly 200 hospitality professionals attended the recent bi-annual NEWH Leadership. Conference in January at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort Hotel & Conference Center at Universal Orlando.
Dubbed “Catch the Wave,” the three-day event featured a tradeshow showcasing the best products in the industry, a conference filled with veteran and leadership-inspiring speakers, and fun-filled networking events.
Highlights include the opening keynote speech by Raul Leal, who discussed the revolutionary vision of the newly formed Virgin Hotels; an in-depth look at the branding and creation of the award-winning Iron
Horse Hotel in Milwaukee by owner Tim Dixon and Brigette Breitnebach; Hospitality Design (HD) magazine’s Owners Roundtable, where attendees speed-networked with 18 key senior hotel design and purchasing executives from around the U.S.; “America’s small talk expert” Don Gabor’s amusing speech on real-life networking techniques and skills; a special behind-the-scenes presentation by Universal’s Theirry.
Coup on the creation and construction of the entire Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme area at Universal; and a closing presentation by Adrienne Pumphrey on the new groundbreaking green-from-the-ground-up Adobo Eco Hotel & Suites concept. Other breakout sessions covered social media, personal branding, sustainable purchasing and design, the sustainable impact on ecology, specification writing, and running a volunteer organization like NEWH. “Thank you for putting together such a great program and allowing me to be part of it,” says Ken Koneck, public affairs manager, Valley Forge Fabrics.
On Saturday night, attendees had the chance to tour and ride Universal’s Harry Potter Experience and attend an awards dinner banquet at Rising Star at Universal’s CityWalk where Lynda Sullivan of JLF and David Mahood of Olive Designs were honored with the NEWH Award of Excellence for their dedication and service to the organization. Six of NEWH’s recent college scholarship recipients also shared how NEWH and its grants to students have changed both their student and professional lives.
The next NEWH Leadership Conference will take place in San Francisco in January of 2013.
About NEWH Leadership Conference :
The NEWH Leadership Conference was held at Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Universal Orlando January 13-16th, 2011. During the conference, attendees, leading hospitality professionals, gained industry knowledge focused on business development and education in sustainability and leadership skills.
About NEWH :
NEWH—The Hospitality Industry Network, founded in 1985, is an international non-profit organization of hospitality industry professionals volunteering to raise funds and grant scholarships to college students studying design, architecture, purchasing, and management—focused on the hospitality market. NEWH volunteers have raised more than $2.2 million by networking at local, regional, and international hospitality events.
For more information contact:
Andy Schaidler, Director of Conferences, NEWH Inc
[email protected], 414.431.3687
Julia Davis, VP Events, NEWH Inc
[email protected], 206.226.8906
Jena Seibel, NEWH Inc
[email protected], 800.935.NEWH (6394)
Press Contact:
Andy Schaidler
NEWH Inc
Orlando, FL
414.431.3687
[email protected]
http://new.newh.org
