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Bret Thorn
NEW YORK J. W. Marriott Jr., chairman and chief executive of Marriott International, was presented with the inaugural Icon of the Industry Award from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration during a banquet Tuesday at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Click here to view a slide show of photos from the event.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” were masters of ceremony at the dinner, which was attended by a veritable “Who’s Who” in the hospitality industry, including Hilton Hotels president Steve Goldman; Vantage chief executive Roger Bliss; former Applebee’s franchisee Skip Sack, who is currently chairman of Classic Restaurant Concepts; and Myriad Restaurant Group president Drew Nieporent.
Alarge contingent of Marriott executives attended as well, including Marriot International executive vice president Kathleen Matthews, accompanied by her husband, “Hardball” host Chris Matthews.
“Wow, I think I’ll just go to the funeral home and lie down,” Marriott joked after viewing the tribute video that was played as part of his introduction.
He then congratulated the other awardees of the evening, thanked the emcees and sponsors and briefly told the story of how his father left Ogden, Utah, to start the Marriott empire with a nine-stool root beer stand in Washington, D.C.
Based in Bethesda, Md., Marriott International today has more than 3,200 lodging properties under several different brands in the United States and 66 other countries, and 146,000 employees. Revenues for 2008 were nearly $13 billion.
Also honored with the Hospitality Innovator of the Year Award, given by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at Cornell were TIG Global founders Fred Malek and Trip Schneck.
Launched in 2001, TIG is an interactive marketing company for hospitality and travel that over the past year drew more than $700 million in online revenue to its clients.
Based in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration has been a leading educational institution for hospitality management since its founding in 1922.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
