Hardy was chosen by his colleagues for this award � the Florida lodging industry�s highest honor � due to his continued dedication to the hospitality business and his outstanding professional and personal accomplishments.

Thomas A. Waits, FH&MA�s president/CEO, says this about Hardy:   �Great choice!  Jack Hardy is a model hotelier in every way.  His demonstrated professionalism in hotel property management combined with his continuing leadership contribution to the tourism and lodging industries makes him most deserving of this very special recognition.�

Hardy has more than 30 years� experience in the lodging industry.  He joined Hyatt Hotels Corporation in 1974 as General Manager of Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel & Casino.  He was named Hyatt�s General Manager of the Year in 1980 and became a regional vice president in 1981.  In 1999, he received Hyatt Corporation�s Jay Pritzker Award for outstanding service. 

Hardy is a member of the Resort Committee for the American Hotel & Motel Association.  On the local level, he is an active member of the Central Florida Hotel & Motel Association, which named him Hotelier of the Year in 1995.  An active member of his community, Hardy serves on the Advisory Board for both the University of Central Florida and Webber College.  He also served eight years on the Board of Directors for Give Kids the World, a charitable organization for terminally ill children.

Hardy holds a bachelor�s degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University.

Also Stuart Blumberg, president and CEO of the Greater Miami & the Beaches Hotel Association, has won the Florida Hotel & Motel Association�s (FH&MA) 2000 Paul Brown Award for his outstanding leadership and accomplishments in hospitality education.  The award was presented at the FH&MA conference in Miami Beach on Aug. 30.

Named for the St. Petersburg hotelier who founded the FH&MA educational trust fund, the Paul Brown Award is given annually to a Florida educator or hotelier who creates significant advances in the industry�s education and training programs.
Blumberg has served on the Academy of Travel & Tourism�s Board of Directors since 1991.  He was Chairman of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce from 1989-1991, and has served on the board since 1986.  He also chairs the Visitor Industry Council (VIC), and has served on this board since 1994.

Blumberg�s previous hospitality industry recognitions include the Miami Beach Resort Hotel Association�s Man of the Year Award in 1989 and the South Florida Tourism Professional of the Year Award in 1995.  In 1999, he was named a Champion for the Academy of Travel and Tourism.  

In addition, Blumberg created the Voluntary Educational Service Training Trust (VESTT) program, which has trained more than 10,000 Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association hotel employees. 

Since fall 1997, he has been an adjunct professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, where he teaches a one-of-a-kind class titled  �The Power of Partnerships.�  Blumberg is a graduate of the University of Florida.