Dr. Richard R. Kelley Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award in Hawaii (United States)
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Dr. Richard R. Kelley Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award in Hawaii (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States - Exclusive experiences
- Rewards
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2011-10-10
Richard R. Kelley, M.D., Board Chairman Emeritus of Outrigger Enterprises Group, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award yesterday in Honolulu. The award was given in recognition of Dr. Kelley’s leadership in Hawaii’s visitor industry – exemplified by his key role in bringing about the creation of the Hawaii Convention Center – as well as for his many contributions to the economic health of the Aloha State. The award was presented at the 2011 Business Leadership Hawaii event sponsored by Pacific Business News.
Humbled by the acknowledgement, Dr. Kelley was quick to thank his family, friends and colleagues – paying special tribute to his wife, Linda, and his parents, Roy and Estelle Kelley – founders of the family-owned Outrigger Hotels & Resorts.
“If I’ve managed to achieve anything worthwhile, it’s because I’ve had an enormous amount of help and support. So I accept this award not only for myself, but also for many other people…and especially for my family, friends and colleagues at Outrigger and OHANA Hotels & Resorts.”
The phrase “In Hawaii, Tourism is Everybody’s Business,” was coined by Dr. Kelley, who concluded his remarks by asking the hundreds of business leaders in the audience to keep this message alive.
“I believe this message needs to be continually relearned and re-absorbed. It doesn’t sink in right away. It gets forgotten. Young people need to hear it for the first time. And those who make policy and those who influence public opinion need to really understand the fundamental truth behind it, deep down in their bones. Much as I’d like to be here forever to keep hammering this message home, the time has come for this important task to fall to others.”
Dr. Kelley is best known for his longtime leadership of Outrigger and his long record of working with government, labor and private industry to strengthen Hawaii’s visitor industry, business community and economy. He served as Outrigger’s president until 1988, chief executive officer until 1993 and chairman of the board until August 2011, when he passed the reigns of chairmanship to his son Charles Roy “Chuck” Kelley, M.D.
“Dr. Kelley has earned a legendary reputation in our company, in our community and in our industry,” said David Carey, President and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Group. “I’m reassured to know he has no plans to slow down anytime soon. It’s impossible to overstate the value of the experience, wisdom and clarity of thought he brings to the leadership of our company.”
Born in Honolulu, 77-year old Dr. Kelley is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. Before moving full-time into his family’s hotel business, Outrigger Enterprises Group, in the early 1970s, Dr. Kelley practiced as a pathologist in Honolulu and taught pathology at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.
He serves on the Executive Committee of the prestigious, London-based World Travel & Tourism Council and is past Chair of the Hawaii Business Roundtable as well as the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. He served as chairman of Hawaii’s Commission on Performance Standards for public school students and as a member of the Governor’s Economic Revitalization Task Force. Dr. Kelley is frequently called upon by the media to provide an expert’s perspective on the tourism industry, and he has contributed insightful articles to business and trade publications. He also speaks regularly in local, national and international forums.
The Lifetime Achievement Award from Pacific Business News is a highlight in a storied career that has seen numerous honors and designations bestowed on him. SMEI Honolulu (Sales & Marketing Executives International) named Dr. Kelley Sales Person of the Year in 1994 for his “profound and extensive contributions to developing the State of Hawaii as a tourist destination and as a desirable place to live and work.” SMEI also named Dr. Kelley “the father of the convention center” for his unflagging leadership in the 15-year effort to bring about the birth of this key element in Hawaii’s visitor industry infrastructure.
Earlier, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Marketing Association named him Marketer of the Year (1985). The Hawaii Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, honored Dr. Kelley with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. In 2004, he was presented with the Legacy in Tourism Award from the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management and the “O in Life” Award, the highest honor given by Punahou School, the nation’s largest co-educational independent school. He was elected to the Hawaii Business Hall of Fame in 1993. He has also been honored by the national Multiple Sclerosis Society (Hope Award, 1995) and the Hawaii Army Museum Society (Ihe Award, 2000).
About Outrigger Enterprises Group
Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the largest and fastest growing privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions and continues to expand its presence throughout the area. A family-owned company with more than 60 years of hospitality experience, Outrigger runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger® Hotels & Resorts, OHANA® Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection®, Embassy Suites®, Best Western®, Courtyard® by Marriott, Holiday Inn®, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership®. Currently, Outrigger operates and/or has under development 44 properties with close to 11,000 rooms located in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji, Bali, Phuket, Thailand, Koh Samui, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia.
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