NASSAU, BAHAMAS (Jan. 2x, 2012) – At its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM), held prior to Caribbean Travel Marketplace, members of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) elected its leadership and Board of Directors to guide the region’s association executives during the 2012-13 term. CSHAE executives also hammered out a strategic plan for the region’s hotel associations and agreed to renew financial support for the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association Education Foundation’s (CHTAEF) Haiti Relief Fund which provides training programs to help rebuild the nation’s tourism talent base, much of which was lost as a result of the devastating earthquake two years ago.
Lisa Hamilton, president, United States Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association, was Elected President of CSHAE succeeding Frank Comito, executive Vice President, Bahamas Hotel Association, who held the position since 2009. Gilda Gumbs-Samuel, Executive Director, Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association, was elected Vice President while Neil Forrester, general manager, Antigua Hotels & Tourism Association was re-elected as treasurer andNoorani Azeez,St. LuciaHotel and Tourism Association, was elected secretary.
Other members elected to the CSHAE Board of Directors include:
Frank Comito, executive vice president, Bahamas Hotel Association
Pancy Cross, executive director, Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association
Clarisa Jimenez, president and CEO, Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association
Louanna Chai-Alves, executive director,TrinidadHotels, Restaurant & Tourism Association
Valya Pantophlet, project manager, Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association
James Hepple, president & CEO, Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association
Prior to the CSHAE AGM, hotel and tourism association executives across the region met to develop a Work Plan designed to guide their efforts over the next several years towards strengthening the work and roles of associations both at the local and regional levels.
Outgoing CSHAE President Frank Comito commended his colleagues as well as Josef Forstmayr, CHTA president, Alec Sanguinetti, CHTA director general and CEO, and Richard J. Doumeng, CHTA president-elect, for participating in the developmental sessions.
“When looking at the work being done on the ground by many of our hotel associations throughout the region, it is impressive,” stated Comito, adding: We want to do a better job at sharing information and best practices so that we can be even more effective at the national level while helping to strengthen the overall Caribbean brand at the regional level.”
Comito also commended the executives and CSHAE’s past leadership and offered congratulations to Lisa Hamilton and the incoming CSHAE leadership team.
Hamiltonthanked Comito and the previous board and stated, “I am honored and humbled to have been selected by my peers as president. It is my goal to continue to drive all of the key initiatives laid out by Frank and the previous board as they have done such a fantastic job for our organization.”
Hamiltonadded, “I also am excited to work alongside my industry colleagues to increase membership and awareness by working closely with all of the committees on behalf of the dedicated and diverse members who support our association.”
At the CSHAE AGM, members presented a check to CHTAEF Chairman Tom Pas in the amount of $2,000 towards the Haiti Fund. This follows an earlier contribution of $3,000 made by CSHAE to the Haiti Fund. The CHTAEF has been on the ground in Port au Prince since 2010 and is delivering education & skills training to surviving hotel school students through extensiveCaribbeanvolunteer time and expertise coupled with the ability to purchase equipment, supplies and English teaching through donor support.
– Press Release
