Texas H&LA Names 2010 Officers and Board

Barron Hobbs, GM of the Hilton College Station & Conference Center, Elected Chairman of the Board

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. April 26, 2010

AUSTIN, TX - April 22, 2010 - The Board of Directors of the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association (THLA) has announced its 2010 Officers and Board of Directors with representation coming from all areas of the state.

Barron Hobbs, General Manager of the 303-room Hilton College Station & Conference Center, has been elected to serve as the THLA Chairman of the Board in 2010.

Hobbs has over 50 years experience in the lodging industry, with his first position as a bellman at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. at the age of 15. After attending the University of Tennessee, Hobbs rejoined Marriott Hotels in Dallas. With Marriott, he held management positions in Houston, New Orleans, and Miami prior to joining Sunbelt Hotels in 1979. In 1994, Hobbs was named General Manager of the Hilton College Station & Conference Center.

In addition to serving on THLA's Board of Directors for over 20 years, Hobbs is a past President of the Brazos Valley Lodging Association, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Bryan-College Station Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Board for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He also serves on the Brazos County Oversight Committee that administers the two percent expo center hotel occupancy tax. Always active in his local community, Hobbs sponsors adopt-a-school programs and recently raised thousands of dollars for a local school in Bryan. He is a believer in giving back to the community, a theme that he advocates for his entire staff.

Scott Joslove, THLA President & CEO, commented that “Hobbs not only brings an incredible background in the hotel industry, but is a strong and trusted advocate on behalf of area hoteliers at the local, regional, and state level.”

Joe Palmieri, General Manager of the 1200-room Hilton Americas in Houston, has been elected to serve as the 1st Vice President of THLA in 2010. Palmieri will ascend to Chairman of the Board in 2011.

John Imaizumi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the 1,511-room Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, will be 2nd Vice President for 2010. Imaizumi will ascend to the position of Chairman of the Board in 2012.

And Al DeBerry, Area Director with Tharaldson Lodging Companies, has been named to the 2010 Executive Committee of the State lodging association. DeBerry served as Chairman of the THLA Board in 2009 and is currently President of the Hotel Association of Tarrant County

Board members are responsible for setting long-term strategic plans, goals, legislative positions, and direction of services for THLA, the largest state lodging association in the United States. TH&LA has been recognized three times for having the Best Governmental Affairs Program of any hotel association in the nation and twice for having the Best Membership Program.

Hoteliers named to the 2010 THLA Board of Directors are:

• Steve DeWire - Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa
• Kevin Latone - Omni Austin Southpark
• Gene McMenamin - Omni Austin Downtown
• Roger Millar - Hampton Inn & Suites Austin Downtown
• Donna Mittel - Accommodations of Gastehaus Schmidt Fredericksburg
• Kathy Patel - Days Inn Waco
• Tony Sahyoun - Wyndham Hotel Austin
• Debbie Simmons - Clarion Inn & Suites Austin
• Andy Slater - Hilton Hotels Corporation Austin
• Suren Suthar - Days Inn & Suites Round Rock
• Michael Thomas - Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort
• Jeff Trigger - La Corsha Hospitality Group Austin
• James Walsh - Barton Creek Resort & Spa Austin
• Ralph Ehrlich, Hospitality Consultant, Corpus Christi
• Rick Patel, Radisson Hotel Corpus Christi Beach, Corpus Christi
• Jack Rush, Port Royal Ocean Resort, Port Aransas
• John Allsup, Aimbridge Hospitality, Carrolton
• Randy Baugher, Courtyard Dallas/Richardson Spring Valley, Richardson
• Ron Bleeker, American Heritage House B&B, Granbury
• Ronnie Breaux, Hospitality Consulting Specialists, Flower Mound
• Mark Brooks, Marriott-Quorum By The Galleria Mall, Dallas
• Al DeBerry, Tharaldson Enterprises, Flower Mound
• Joe DePalma, DePalma Hotel Corporation, Arlington
• Terri Dolan, Marriott Hotels Regional Office, Plano
• Yale Feldman, Inter-Continental Hotel - Dallas, Addison
• John Imaizumi, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine
• Angelo Lombardi, La Quinta Inns, Inc., Irving
• Ken Masters, Country Inn & Suites, Fort Worth
• Matthew Newton, Magnolia Lodging, Carrollton
• Jags Patel, Q Hotels, Arlington
• Nancy Sorrells, Marriott - DFW Airport South, Fort Worth
• Bill Bianchi, MCM Elegante Hotel, Beaumont
• John Bowen, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
• Theresa Elliott, Casa Del Mar Beachfront Suites, Galveston
• John Esgate, Sheraton Brookhollow, Houston
• Delaina Hanssen, Beacon Hill Guest House B&B, Seabrook
• Barron Hobbs, Hilton Conference Center, College Station
• Doug Horn, Houstonian Estates, Houston
• Jim Mills, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, Houston
• Garvin O'Neil, Moody Gardens Hotel, Galveston
• Joe Palmieri, Hilton Americas Houston, Houston
• Hasu Patel, Howard Johnson Express, Houston
• Tom Rosepink, Marriott Airport @ Bush Intercontinental, Houston
• Paul Schultz, The San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center, Galveston
• Rob Meyer, Arbor Inn & Suites, Lubbock
• Phyllis Payne, Ambassador Hotel, Amarillo
• Ben Baker, Marriott Courtyard River Village, New Braunfels
• Bill Brendel, Crockett Hotel San Antonio, San Antonio
• Henry Feldman, Martin Feldman Hospitality Management, San Antonio
• Dan Henry, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Seguin
• Shawn Kenworthy, Holiday Inn Lackland, San Antonio
• Larry Murphy, Crowne Plaza Hotel Airport, San Antonio
• Prat Patel, Holiday Inn Lackland, San Antonio
• Bob Zachariah, La Quinta Inn, Laredo
• Rich Cane, Cane Hotel Company, El Paso
• Joe Frandina, Holiday Inn Express El Paso Central, El Paso
• Ron Sanders, Forever Resorts, Alpine
• Scott Zaruba, Inn of The Conchos, San Angelo

Based in Austin, the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association serves over 2,400 member bed and breakfasts, guest ranches, inns, hotels, motels, resorts, and hospitality-related businesses across the state by providing governmental affairs representation, operational, marketing, educational, and communications services.