Ms. Duke

Cheryl Duke

President

W.C. Duke & Associates

For anyone with a disability, trying to live an ordinary life can be a frustrating experience. Cheryl Duke of Woodford, Virginia encounters many of these frustrations. Cheryl is a person of short stature and has impaired mobility due to degenerative arthritis. Her husband, Bill, has profound hearing loss. Their son, Paul, uses a motorized wheelchair and is respirator dependent because of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Since 1988 Cheryl and her family business, W. C. Duke Associates, Inc., has been encouraging businesses to recognize persons with disabilities as a powerful consumer market. They developed Opening Doors', an interactive video or computer-based customer service program on how to serve persons with mobility, hearing, or visual impairments. The Dukes quickly became recognized as the national authority in customer service and employee training concerning disability etiquette.

Many progressive companies in the travel, hospitality, gaming, entertainment, and restaurant industries use the Opening Doors' programs. Examples of W. C. Duke's client list include American Airlines, American Express, Darden Restaurants, Denny's, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inns, Harrah's Entertainment, Homewood Suites, InterContinental Hotels Group, Long John Silver's, Microtel Inns and Suites, John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts, Prime Hospitality, plus many Central FL attractions and resorts.

As a result of their efforts, Cheryl and her family became the first family to receive the Victory Award, which was presented at the White House by Barbara Bush.

Feature articles about W. C. Duke Associates have appeared in publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Cornell University Quarterly, Travel and Leisure, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel Business, and Hotel Motel Management.

Education: Bachelor of Arts International Relations, Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, Master of Humanities, University of Richmond.

Ms. Duke can be contacted at 804-633-6752 or cduke@wcduke.com

Coming Up In The June Online Hotel Business Review

"Hotel Business Review offers weekly articles for hotel management and operation and discussion on emerging growth markets."
Feature Focus
Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices
Sustainability is now a daily topic that affects every facet of hotel development and operations. As hotelier Hervé Houdré recently noted "The goal of Sustainable Development is clearly to secure economic development, social equity, and environmental protection. As much as they could work in harmony, these goals sometimes work against each other". In the June Hotel Business Review, some of the industry's most recognized sustainable development experts come together to identify emerging trends and discuss how sustainability is currently affecting the hotel industry. Each author presents the most important aspects of sustainable development of much interest to hotel owners, operators, investors and developers. We include perspectives and case studies on best practices from leading hotel groups and other industry players.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"300,000 Rooms Complete, 15,700,000 to Go"
By Larry Mogelonsky, President and Founder, LMA Communications
"Destination Earth: A Customized Approach to Sustainability"
By Mark Hickey, Senior Vice President of U.S. Hotel Operations, Destination Hotels
"Why This New Standard is Going to change Hotel Energy Management Forever?"
By Robert Allender, Managing Director, Energy Resources Management
"How Two Major Hotel Companies are Turning Sustainability into Tangible Business Advantage"
By Christopher Wood, Director of Social Responsibility, ASAE Convene Green Alliance
PLUS: Green Certification - Development & Investment Outlook - Case Studies - Green Design – Sustainable Development Strategies - Green Luxury - CSR Programs - Green Facility Management