The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association Recognizes the �Best of the Best� Hotel Employees of the Year / January 2006

Hotel Online Special Report

The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association Recognizes the
�Best of the Best� Hotel Employees of the Year

ORLANDO - Thursday, January 26, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association held its annual Employee Recognition Awards celebration. This �Academy Awards� style dinner recognized hotel employees of the year, in 12 different categories (Administrative, Bell Person/Concierge, Community Services, Convention Center/Banquet, Culinary, Engineering, Food & Beverage, Front Office, Housekeeping, Laundry, Recreational, and Security).

Over 150 nominations were received by CFHLA and each nominee was invited to attend an exclusive pre-dinner VIP reception featuring Orange County Mayor and Mrs. Richard T. Crotty. Mayor Crotty and his wife Pam, greeted nominees and took individual photos with them.

Following the reception, Mayor Crotty escorted the nominees down a �Red Carpet� into the ballroom. Over 350 guests attending the dinner stood along the perimeter of the red carpet, applauding and taking photos of the nominees as they walked into the ballroom.

The dinner program began with Mayor Crotty reading the Orange County Proclamation and presenting a congratulatory toast to all the employees.

Additionally, during the program, CFHLA offered $1,000 scholarships to five students, who are related to an employee of a CFHLA member hotel.   The 2005 CFHLA Family Member Scholarship winners are: Francisco Cruz who attends the International Academy of Design and Technology (son of Irma Gonzalez of the Orlando World Center Marriott); Andrea Green who attends Valencia Community College (daughter of Joanna Randolph of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress); Jennifer Miller who attends the University of Central Florida (niece of David Scarnato of the Sheraton Safari Hotel); Erika Rivera who attends Valencia Community College (daughter of Julio Rivera of the Orlando World Center Marriott); and Amy Sierra who attends Lake Sumter Community College (daughter of Terri Bolin of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress).

�The CFHLA membership was excited about putting together this event. It�s an opportunity for our industry to recognize and celebrate the great work of its exemplary employees. The family scholarship component also compliments our evening�s celebration,� said Richard Maladecki, President of CFHLA.

The 2005 CFHLA Hospitality �Best of the Best� are as follows:

ELAINE HOFFAR
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
2005 Administrative Employee of the Year

JOSEPH SANCHEZ
JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes
2005 Community Service Employee of the Year

ENOCK LAVEUS
Best Western Lakeside
2005 Culinary Employee of the Year

MARIO PALZA
Orlando Marriott Downtown
2005 Food & Beverage Service Employee of the Year

LOREN NICHOLAS
Orlando World Center Marriott
2005 Housekeeping Employee of the Year

JACQUI ALBERTO
Hard Rock Hotel at Universal, A Loews Hotel
2005 Recreational Employee of the Year

ERIC ANDERSON
The Peabody Orlando
2005 Bell Person/Concierge Employee of the Year

FRED SHARIFI
Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel
2005 Convention Center/Banquet Employee of Year

ANTONIO AGUAYO
Radisson Resort Parkway
2005 Engineering Employee of the Year

AILYN DIXON
DoubleTree Guest Suites in the WDW Resort
2005 Front Office Employee of the Year

WILMA �STRAWBERRY� JOHNSON
Holiday Inn I-Drive Resort
2005 Laundry Employee of the Year

FRITZ DIEUJUSTE
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
2005 Security/Loss Prevention Employee of the Year

Additionally, the following recipients earned other annual hospitality awards at the CFHLA Hospitality Gala of December 17th, 2005:

Dennis BeMent, General Manager, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort
2005 Hotelier of the Year
Debra K. Ray, Director of Marketing, The Florida Mall
2005 Allied Member of the Year
Steven Bukoski, Chief Engineer, Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center
2005 Engineer of the Year
Honorable Richard T. Crotty, Orange County Mayor
2005 Charles Andrews Memorial Hospitality
Award for Community Leadership

2005 Hotelier of the Year
Dennis BeMent (center)
Holiday Inn SunSpree .
The Central Florida Hotel Lodging Association is one of Central Florida's largest and most influential trade groups. Its membership includes over 70% of the more than 114,000 hotel rooms in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, as well as hundreds of organizations that do business with the hospitality and tourism industries.

Contact:

Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association
7380 Sand Lake Road, Suite 300
Orlando, FL 32819
PH (407) 313-5000
www.cfhla.org

Also See:	Dennis BeMent, GM of the Holiday Inn SunSpree Named Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association 2005 Hotelier of the Year / December 2005
	Gaylord Palms Resort General Manager John Caparella Named 'Outstanding GM of the Year' by American Hotel & Lodging Association / May 2005

To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search