CHS Hotelie Hall of Fame Announcement of Inductees
The mission of the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame is to:
- Celebrate Cornell Hotelie successes.
- Build a library of inspirational stories for applicants, students, faculty, and alumni.
- Hold an annual reunion of Hotelies to share the fellowship of Hotelie for Life.
- Fortify the School’s brand in the industry by featuring Hotelie successes.
The Nomination/Selection Committee selects the inductees each year and is comprised of Hotelies from different generations, geographic regions, and segments of the industry. The committee members are as follows:
- Deniz Omurgonulsen, ‘00 (Chair)
- Rocco Angelo, ‘58
- Jan DeRoos, ‘78
- Court Williams ’78
- Ted Teng ‘79
- Ginny Mariani-Kitt, ‘82
- Catalina Ganis ‘85
- Regan Taikitsadaporn, ‘93
- Carla Petzold-Beck, ‘95
- Kristin Sander Urhammer, ‘99
- Rohan Gopaldas, ‘02
- Sarah Perkins Latimer ’05
The criteria for nomination/selection are:
- Contribution to the hospitality industry
- Contribution to the community
- Contribution to the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration
For the 2023 class, the committee reviewed nominations using our current list of over 100 potential inductees organized by the committee. In the future, once this program is better established, we plan to have a broader nomination/selection process engaging our CHS members and their local chapters. If you would like to suggest a nomination, please feel free to email Deniz or Ted using our criteria.
Selecting the class of 2023 was not any easier than the inaugural class. We started in December and worked through March to finalize the class. We deliberated over the candidates and held several rounds of balloting.
The committee has chosen a very special class of 11 inductees representing many aspects of Hotelie successes. While we didn’t start out with a theme for this class, as we selected the inductees, the theme of “Game Changers” emerged. These Hotelies didn’t just play the game better than others, they literally changed the game for the industry. The Hall of Fame inductees for 2023 are:
- James W. McLamore ’47
- John Harney ’56
- Harris Rosen ’61
- Burton "Skip" Sack ’61
- Annabella Santos Wisniewski ’65
- Steve Rushmore ’67
- Jim Eyster ’69
- Leland C. “Lee” Pillsbury ’69
- Cindy Estis Green ’79
- Chiaki Tanuma MPS ’80
- Evan Frazier ‘92
The Rising Star award recognizes early Hotelie successes and this year the award goes to:
- Karim Abouelnaga ’13
We will be sharing the inspiring stories of these inductees over the coming months before their induction at the November event.
Our sincere gratitude to the Nomination/Selection Committee members for their tireless work in composing an incredible class of game changing inductees.
Save the Date! The 2023 Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame event will be held on Sunday, November 12, at the Pierre Hotel as a part of the new Hotelie Super Sunday as follows:
- 10 am – 12 pm Industry Panel Discussions involving some Hall of Famers
- 12 pm – 2 pm Student/Alumni Brunch
- 2 pm – 5 pm Hotelie Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
- 5 pm – 8 pm NYC Chapter Annual Reception
As you may recall, this is the Hotelie Weekend in New York City for students. For those students visiting New York City, they will be able to participate in the day’s program. You are all invited to take part for the entire day or any parts of the day.
Marketplace Auction. Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of Hotelies who solicited and donated prizes or bid and won the prizes, we raised over $100,000 for CHS last year. We will again be running an auction along with the Hall of Fame program. If you would like us to feature your company products by donating a prize, please email Richy or Ted. We would be grateful for your kind contributions.
Registration will be available later in the year. I hope to see many of you there to celebrate these Cornell Hotelie Hall of Famers.
For more information on the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame, please click here. https://cornellhotelsociety.com/hotelie-hall-of-fame