Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44484
Hotel Company of the Year; John and Shiroleen Hurt and The Hurt Group as Emerging Hotel Owner of the Year; the Chairman's Award went to Rajiv Trivedi of LaQuinta Inns and Suites. The Partnership Award went to Hemant "Henry" Patel, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). AAHOA's Outstanding Hotelier Award recipi- ent is Norman K. Jenkins of Capstone Development, LLC. NABHOOD's President Award went to Fred Schwartz, president of AAHOA and Chandrakant "C.K." Patel past chairman of AAHOA was honored with NABHOOD's Appreciation Award. NABHOOD continually attracts the industry's top brands to sponsor this event and this year's gathering was no excep- tion. Major sponsors include; Marriott, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Choices Hotels International, La Quinta Inns and Suites and InterContinental Hotel Groups. MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Thomas J. Baltimore is considered by many to be one of the pioneers in Black hotel ownership. Baltimore is co- founder and president of RLJDevelopment Partners, LLC a real estate investment company led by Robert L. Johnson. RLJ is the firstAfrican-American company to become aReal Estate InvestmentTrust (REIT). Baltimore has direct day-to-day responsibilities for all RLJ Develop- ment business that includes the compa- ny's three private equity funds with over $2 billion under management, and 123 hotels in major markets throughout NorthAmerica. Prior to co- THOMAS J. BALTIMORE founding RLJ,Balti- more was with Hilton Hotels as Vice President,Development and Finance andVice President of Gaming Development. He also spent three years in vari- ous positions atMarriott after his days as an auditor for Price Waterhouse. On May 11, 2011 executives of RLJ Lodging Trust visited the NewYork Stock Exchange to commemorate the compa- ny's initial public offering. In honor of the occasion, Baltimore, Johnson and Baltimore's young daughter rang the opening bell for that day's session. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riPTThnsgjY if you want to take a look at the video of the opening session. VENDOR SHOWCASE Felecia Fisher-Shamu, president of Los Angeles based Black Meetings & Tourism September/October 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 53 Vitality Casegoods, Restorations and Furn- iture Manufacturing, Inc., has spent almost two decades bringing her unique style and brand of furnishing to hotels, resorts, casinos, offices and trade shows around the world. F i s h e r - S h a m u launched the company in 2002 and has amassed an outstanding portfolio of past and current clients includ- ing; the Beverly Hills Residence Inn Marri- ott, Courtyard Marriott Pasadena, Bergdorf Goodman Restaurant in New York City, MGM Grand Casino Detroit and City Center Las Vegas, Wazuzu Bistro inside the Encore Hotel and Casino and the Doral, host resort of the annual NABHOOD summit. "Vitality is restructuring their furniture group to meet the FELECIA FISHER-SHAMU needs of today," says Fisher-Shamu. Google recently selected Vitality because of their comfortable and environmentally friendly furniture. Her customers are looking for environ- mentally safe and stylish products. Vitality also has a thriving furniture rental and staging business for trade shows and elite events from the BET Awards and the NAACP Image Awards to the 2011 NBA All- Star Event. Visit their showroom at 5023 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles or go to their website at vitalityfurniture.com. • • • • CALENDAR OF EVENTS • • • • the U.S. and the Caribbean with four more slated to take place in 2011 – dates and times to be deter- mined. frequently invited to attend and speak at such stel- lar events as the American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). International MultiCultural Toursim Summit to be held in Washington DC in 2012. We will put together a calendar of all these events in future issues. NABHOOD will be presenting at the In addition, Ingraham and other members are NABHOOD holds several workshops throughout