by Dr. John Hogan, CHE, CHA, MHS
December 29, 2011

As we end the year and begin the next, it is often positive to reflect on the year’s events and how they impacted us.

I suggest you take 5 minutes and perform a simple exercise. On a plain sheet of paper, mark the following:

1. Three major accomplishments you feel pride for this year (personal or professional)
2. Two disappointments
3. Three tasks or goals you did not finish this year.  Next to them, mark if you intend to complete them in the next 12 months.  If not, scratch them off.  If so, how and when.
4. Beginning on January 1, take time EACH DAY to make it a better year for you. Log it and reflect as you go.

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Now, take another moment and reflect on those who left our lives this year.  More importantly, remember the Lessons of Life they shared with you as an individual and how they changed you.

I feel the loss of three people this year.  One represented a major presence in my life and had known me longer than anyone else other than my bride and partner (Kathleen) and my sister. The other two were industry professionals that were strong proponents of continuos learning and were columnists on HospitralityEducators.com.

Louise Avery of Fairlee, Vermont  passed away in the summer at the age of 93. I knew Louise and her family from my 1st hotel jobs, working at Bonnie Oaks Resort and Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee.   The Avery family meant and means a great deal to me and I have written about them before.  

Louise Avery - Ahead of Her Time
http://hoganhospitality.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/reflections-louise-avery-ahead-of-her-time-avery-vermont-inns/


Neil Salerno, CHME, CHA for the past 15 years was known as the Hotel Marketing Coach™ as he worked with many independent and branded hotel properties in establishing and maintaining their hotel web sites, internet marketing strategies and overall technology marketing. Neil agreed in early October 2010 to share his thoughts as a guest columnist for HospitalityEducators.com with an emphasis on revenue management, and we had a number of interesting phone conversations as I began to prepare a column featuring him. Neil became hard to reach by email or phone beginning in December and I was saddened to learn he passed away in mid February of 2011.  John Hogan

His good friend and my co-author of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES, Howard Feiertag, a faculty member at the hospitality program @ Virginia Tech wrote a tribute to Neil that is posted on this site and globally in online publications.  HospitalityEducators.com will continue to post his insights in 2011 with this tribute and introduction.


Harry Nobles, Founder and CEO of Nobles Hospitality Consulting. Harry was an industry veteran with AAA background.  He was Supervisor of Inspections in rating AAA-approved lodging and dining establishments throughout North America and was a direct participant in the original AAA Diamond Rating Guidelines for the hospitality industry.  Nobles Hospitality Consulting provided services and training to multinational markets, including work with the Organization of American States (OAS).


The new years favourite "Auld Lang Syne" (auld lang syne) performed excellently on traditional Scottish bagpipes. Accompanied by some nice shots of Scotland. Enjoy!

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