 MOHAMMED
JENATIAN
Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism
Alliance
By Matt Joyner
Tim Newman introduced Mohammed Jenatian,
President of the Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance ("HTA").
Jenatian was born in Iran, came to the United States at age 17 to
attend UNCC and study engineering. At that time Jenatian began
working in hotels to support himself, and has stayed in the
Charlotte hospitality industry ever since. In 1989 he became the
President of the Charlotte Hotel and Motel Association and in 1994
became President of HTA upon its founding.
Jenatian said that HTA's number one job is to create awareness for
the Charlotte hospitality industry, currently the fastest growing
industry in the city. HTA is a membership organization with over 800
members, primarily hotels and restaurants, who employ over 60,000
workers in Mecklenburg County. Jenatian noted that all HTA revenues
are from its private membership, so he "can say what needs to be
said and not be politically correct."
Jenatian gave two primary reasons behind the formation of the HTA.
First, upon the collapse of the PTL ministry the Charlotte hotel
industry went through a period of self-examination to determine how
to replace the guests PTL had brought to the city. Given its growing
hub airport and lack of mountain and beach diversions, Charlotte was
a good candidate for a convention center and HTA set about lobbying
for it. A second force to which Jenatian attributed the founding of
the HTA was Jenatian's own personal experience. Coming to America
from Iran in 1979 forced Jenatian to become creative and proactive
in generating opportunities. This spirit of proactivity led HTA to
become a force in shaping public policy for the benefit of its
members rather than maintaining a passive posture with regard to
local development and tourism. HTA has had a major role in
initiating, leading or actively participating in the Charlotte
Convention Center, the Westin Hotel, the Bobcats Arena and
NASCAR-related efforts.
HTA's priorities for 2005 have included initiatives to increase
hotel occupancy rates and average daily rates and to increase
Mecklenburg County food and beverage revenues by 4% (a goal of $1.75
billion in annual revenue). Another important priority for HTA is
addressing public safety issues, particularly car break ins and car
thefts.
Head Table:
Skip Berry, Michelle Fish, Herb Harriss, Tim Newman, Harriman Jett,
Chip Scholz; Invocation: Janet Fortner
Visitors &
Guests:
Jack Smylie; Health & Happiness: Harley Dickson; Song: Gregg Walker;
Piano: Thomas Moore
|
*
* * |
|
|
|
Attendance
Record |
|
11/15/05 |
11/16/04 |
| visitors &
guests |
13 |
9 |
| club
members |
173 |
184 |
| total
attendance |
186 |
193 |
|
|
New Members | Resignations |
|
|
|
|
Wedding
Anniversaries |
22 Susan and Dick Robberts
24 Virginia and Bayard Van Hecke
25 Mae and Gary Scott
26 Debbie and Sadler Barnhardt |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
22 Floyd Davis, White Plains, VA
22 Mac Jackson, Winder, GA
23 Jody Morris, Atlanta, GA
24 Jim Woodward, Sanford, FL
25 Doug Booth, Atlanta, GA |
|
|
|
*
* *
|
|
Rotary Club of Charlotte
841 Baxter Street, Suite 118, Charlotte 28202
chltrot@bellsouth.net 704-375-6816 |
|
 |
|
|
þ
Tim Newman had the honor of
singing the national anthem at the Checkers home opener at
the Bobcats Arena.
þ
Friday evening's premier of
How I Survived WW II was
quite an impressive event. Club members
Richard Bailey, Tom Burgess, Mary
Ciminelli, and Meg
McElwain were on hand to ensure the details were
handled - and they were! Marilynn
Bowler, who serves as Chair of the WTVI board,
welcomed all. Luther Fincher
was positively beaming as the Fire Company's drum and
bagpipers accompanied the presentation of the colors. WTVI's
production of the documentary is to be applauded. And the
'stars' of the DVD - Martin Waters,
Ray Killian, Bert Voswinkel, Tom Burgess, Helmut Deussen,
Powell Majors, and Jim
Horton, to name a few, gave their most personal
experiences of war. As Tom Burgess remarked from the podium,
all 123 interviews are important and their stories have been
recorded for history. Club members should feel a deep
appreciation for the outstanding result of this tremendous
project. The DVD, which will be shown Thursday, November 17
at 8:00 on WTVI, will sell for $20 and copies should be
ready before Christmas.
þ
Crisis Assistance Ministry
Collection: Don't forget to bring your donations
for the warm clothing drive. Items may be dropped off at the
designated table in the parking deck of the Adam's Mark
Hotel.
þ
Those wishing to sign up to ring the bell for the Salvation
Army can do so
here.
þ
It was reported during Health & Happiness on Tuesday that
Rock Miralia's wife,
Ann, is quite ill.
þ
A link to On-Line Makeups
is available from the website,
charlotterotary.org. Once on the site, click on the
word 'programs" and you will be taken to a list of Rotary
stories. Once you complete the reading, fill out the makeup
slip and email, fax, or mail to the Rotary office.
|
|
*
* *
|
|
NEW MEMBER
PROFILE |
 |
Regina L. Patton
Management inSites L.L.C.
Classification: Consulting, Business Development
223 East Boulevard (28203)
704-373-1505
rpatton@managementinsites.com |
Ms. Patton has twelve years of experience in operations
management and international development for government,
non-profit and financial service industries. Prior to
joining Management inSites, she spent over three years based
in London developing partnerships and setting up overseas
operations for Royal and Sun Alliance. She worked in more
than 40 countries during this time to find solutions to
operational gaps in order to meet global requirements.
Regina brings to MI experience in building financial, human
resource, business processes, systems management and
governance infrastructures within multinational entities.
Her career includes responsibilities in both the private and
public sector.
Regina has managed programs for the United States
Information Agency and Agency for International Development
in Charlotte for a non-profit organization. In addition, she
was based in Japan for three years coordinating development
and training programs for the Niigata Prefectural
Government. Regina holds a Bachelors degree in
Communications with a minor in Asian Studies from Texas Tech
University. She earned her MBA degree at the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte. As part of her MBA, she
completed courses at Lancaster University in Lancaster,
England. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
