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  Four Best Western Hotel Owners Elected 
as Officers and Directors for 2002; 
Will Serve Best Western's 4,065 Hotels 

PHOENIX - December 7, 2001 - Three Best Western International hoteliers have been elected officers and a fourth has been named as a new director of the global hotel chain's board of directors for the 2002 fiscal year commencing December 1.

Serving as chairman of the seven-member board is Ken Smotherman, a Texas hotelier who served last year as vice chair. The new vice chairman is Lowell Cruse and serving as secretary/treasurer is Nayan Patel. Elected as director is Nils Kindgren from
Arizona.

Chairman Ken Smotherman, CHA, opened his first Best Western hotel in 1976 and during the past 24 years, he has owned three Best Western hotels. He currently co-owns and operates the Best Western Old Main Lodge in Waco, Texas. He has also served on various Best Western member committees. Smotherman is a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana where he earned a degree in business administration.

Vice Chairman Lowell Cruse, CHA, was elected to Best Western International's board of directors for a three-year term that began Dec. 1, 1999. Cruse owns the Best Western Villa Inn in Lawrenceburg, Tenn. A 21-year Best Western veteran, Cruse has
served in leadership roles as a co-chair and member of Best Western member committees. Cruse holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas.

Secretary/treasurer Nayan Patel, along with his family, owns and operates four Best Western properties in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. Part of the Best Western family since 1987, he is involved in governing roles for the brand and is an active participant in regional marketing and advertising co-ops. Patel has an undergraduate degree from Duke University as well as a degree in law from Georgetown University.
 

Best Western hotel member Nils Kindgren replaces Mark T. Brown as director of District One. Nils Kindgren, veteran Best Western member and hotel owner, was elected to the board of directors of Best Western International for a three-year term effectively immediately.

Kindgren operates the Best Western Inn and Suites of Sun City in Sun City, Ariz. He will represent Best Western hoteliers in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska and Kansas.
 


Nils Kindgren
Part of the Best Western family since 1985, Kindgren has been involved in governing roles for the brand and has been an active participant in regional marketing and advertising co-ops such as the Arizona Advertising Co-op and the International
Marketing Committee. He has also served on various Best Western corporate committees including the International Brand Identity Task Force, the Best Western Focus and Advisory Group, and, he was most recently a Best Western Governor
working on behalf of the Best Western members in central Arizona.

An active businessman, Kindgren has also been involved in numerous industry and civic organizations. He was a member of the AH&LA National Marketing Committee for Small Properties, on the board of directors and legislative committee for the
Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association and he has served in top-level leadership roles within other lodging brands. Kindgren is also a member of the Rotary Club of Tempe, Ariz. and was named a Paul Harris Fellow in 1997.

Kindgren, a certified hotel administrator, studied business at the University of Bridgeport, real estate development from UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. and Architecture from El Camino College. Kindgren is also a licensed realtor and holds a mortgage broker certification.

Other members of the current board include immediate past Chairwoman, Cindy Binkele, John Van Duyn and Mike Scholz.

Best Western is governed by a seven-member board of directors, elected by Best Western member hoteliers in seven geographic regions in North America. Each region or District has an average of 300 Best Western properties. Board members must be Best Western member hoteliers and they serve a three-year term as a director and may be re-elected once.

Best Western International is the world's largest hotel chain. As of its third fiscal quarter ending August 31, it had 4,065 hotels in 82 countries and territories. It is a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels that provides
marketing, reservations and operational support to its members.

###

Contact:
Tiffany Collins 
Media Relations Specialist 
Best Western International 
(602) 957-5752 phone 
(602) 957-5641 fax 
[email protected]
http://www.bestwestern.com

Also See Best Western Unveils New Global Standards; Sixteen Amenities and Services Now Policy Worldwide / Jan 2001 
Kenneth Smotherman, Owner of Old Main Lodge in Waco, TX Elected to Best Western International Board of Directors / Dec 1998 


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