AAHOA Award Winners Announced
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AAHOA Award Winners Announced
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-04-20
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) announced six award winners for the year 2005 and the 2006-2007 annual scholarship recipient during its closing gala on March 24, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at its annual convention and trade show.
Bharat Patel was recognized with the AAHOA Award for Excellence; Madhu Keval received the Outstanding Woman Hotelier of the Year Award; Sheila Gilani received the Outstanding Future Hotelier of the Year Award; the Dynasty Inn in Gardena, California, owned by Dalsukhbhai K. Patel, received the IAHA Independent Hotel of the Year Award, Yogendra "Yogi" Patel received the Cecil B. Day Community Service Award; Dilipkumar "Danny" Patel received the AAHOA Chairman’s award; and Rama Chanani of Ithaca, New York, received the 2006-2007 AAHOA scholarship.
"Each year the board of directors and the executive committee carefully review the candidate applications. I can say that all candidates were exceptionally well qualified and deserving of recognition, and this, of course, demonstrates the commitment and caliber of our membership," said Fred Schwartz, AAHOA’s president.
AAHOA’s Award for Excellence recognizes the Asian American hotelier who has demonstrated strong leadership, high standards of excellence, and who is making a significant contribution to the lodging industry. The winner for 2005 is Bharat Patel. He purchased his first hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1989. Three years later, he founded Sun Development and Management Corporation, a hotel development, management, real estate, and construction company in Indianapolis. Sun has hotels in nine states with over 1,200 employees and begins 2006 with 14 new hotels and 1,750 rooms.
The Outstanding Woman Hotelier of the Year Award recognizes the woman hotelier who has demonstrated strong leadership qualities, a commitment to lodging excellence, and who has made significant contributions to her industry and to her community. Madhu Keval owns the Regency Inn in Los Angeles, California. After immigrating to the Untied States in 1976, Keval and her family purchased their first hotel, and she has been in the lodging business ever since.
The award for Outstanding Future Hotelier of the Year honors an individual under the age of 30 who displays a potential for development and success, and who exemplifies the spirit, dedication, and professional achievement of the Asian American hotelier. The 2005 honoree, Sheila Gilani, founded a hospitality ownership and management company. As director of operations, she has complete operational and financial responsibility for two full-service hotels in the Chicago area. She has also completed a Masters degree in Hospitality and Tourism from the Roosevelt University and received the 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Manfred Steinfeld School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Gilani has also managed a six-million-dollar hotel renovation project and continues to be active in the Group Sales and Catering efforts in her hotels.
The Dynasty Inn in Gardena, California, owned by Dalsukhbhai K. Patel, was selected as the 2005 IAHA Independent Hotel of the Year. The award honors an independent hotel that sets a high standard of excellence in quality, service, and guest satisfaction. A specific hotel rather than an independent hotelier is honored. Patel purchased this 40-unit property in 1998 and the amenities of upscale franchise hotels are available in this property, including a multilingual staff.
The Cecil B. Day Community Service Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving the Asian American community. Yogendra "Yogi" Patel, the USA Ambassador for Pratham USA, earned the 2005 award for his active involvement with Pratham USA.
Before beginning his work with Pratham, Yogi opened the Surrey House near a medical center in Houston, Texas. Poor families of cancer patients stayed at the Surrey House, paying for their lodging when and if possible. In addition to helping the disadvantaged in the United States, Yogi has worked to raise child literacy rates in India. He co-founded Pratham USA in 1998 to build awareness of and launch fund-raising campaigns for Pratham, a secular, non-profit organization that promotes literacy to children in India. He has received numerous community service awards and recognition for his charitable work. The award is named in honor of Cecil B. Day, founder of Days Inn, who was well-known for his commitment to community service.
Each year AAHOA awards a $5,000 scholarship, payable for up to four years to an Asian American student studying hotel/motel hospitality management. The recipient must be the son or daughter of a member in good standing with AAHOA, a legal resident of the United States or Canada, enrolling or currently enrolled in and attending an accredited college or university as a full-time student, seeking a degree in the field of hotel/motel hospitality management, have a minimum B grade point average in high school, and maintain at least a B average throughout college to continue receiving the AAHOA Scholarship Award. The 2006-2007 AAHOA scholarship recipient, Rama Chanani, daughter of Madhu Chanani, is currently enrolled in the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
The AAHOA Chairman’s Award went to Dilipkumar "Danny" Patel, vice chairman of AAHOA. According to Chairman M.P. Rama (2005), Danny Patel is a "man with great passion, a man who works hard to make sure that he does his part, a man who spends countless hours in attending all AAHOA regional conferences throughout the United States, and a man whose ‘never say no’ attitude benefits not only the AAHOA board but also countless AAHOA members."
About the Asian American Hotel Owners Association
Representing over 8,300 members, AAHOA is one of the leading forces in the hospitality industry and one of the most powerful Asian American advocacy groups. Together the members own more than 20,000 hotels, which have over one million rooms, representing over 50 percent of the economy lodging properties and nearly 37 percent of all hotel properties in the United States.
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AAHOA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Bharat Patel
Sun Development & Management Corporation
Indianapolis, Indiana
OUTSTANDING WOMAN HOTELIER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Madhu Keval
Regency Inn
Los Angeles, California
OUTSTANDING FUTURE HOTELIER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Sheila Gilani
Holiday Inn Chicago-Skokie
Skokie, Illinois
IAHA INDEPENDENT HOTEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
Dynasty Inn, Dalsukhbhai K. Patel
Gardena, CA 90248
CECIL B. DAY COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Yogendra (Yogi) Patel
Pratham USA
Houston, Texas
AAHOA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD - 2006/2007 SCHOOL YEAR
Rama Chanani
Ithaca, NY
CHAIRMAN’S AWARD
Dilipkumar "Danny" Patel
Vice Chairman, AAHOA
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