From the President
By Mohammad Jenatian

Those of you who have been around for a while may remember the hectic days of early 2005 when we were in a heated competition with a number of other cities to land the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We did it!

As we anxiously await the official opening of the Hall of Fame on May 11, let me take us back to February 2005, and reprint my featured story from Charlotte Hospitality News. It is as follows:

For those of you who are new in the area or may not know the history of NASCAR, right here means the Charlotte area, where the remarkable sport of car racing NASCAR style was born.

Not only was NASCAR born here, it was raised here and it started its tremendous growth right here in the Charlotte area, where more than ninety percent of NASCAR drivers have their shops located and reside.

As someone who has lived in Charlotte for more than twenty five years, I can tell you that NASCAR also gave birth to the tremendous growth, prosperity, and recognition that the Charlotte region now enjoys, as it was the first catalyst to put Charlotte’s name on maps when we were the sleepy little town that most people around the country had never heard of.

Obviously, a lot has happened around here and we are now known as one of the most vibrant regions in the whole country. We have been blessed with some good planning and lots of good luck to have practically whatever we could ask for to become a major financial and business capital, to have become one of the most desirable destinations in the country, and have just about every thing that defines a wonderful major city in this country. One thing that has not changed is the fact that the Charlotte region and North Carolina as a whole are still primarily known because of racing and NASCAR.

As many of you know, for a number of years the decision makers in our community have been trying to identify a true branding for our region. After years of research and discussions, more and more people are convinced that our niche and branding is none other than what put us on the maps to begin with. Racing and NASCAR are our primary branding and we need to do whatever we can to capitalize on this major asset and do more to build upon it to become the Mecca of racing.

We have long been talking about the need for a racing museum as the most unique and productive attraction to bring more visitors to our area, and we now have a tremendous opportunity to make this need a reality. NASCAR wants a hall of fame and they have invited Charlotte along with Atlanta, Daytona Beach, and Kansas City to compete for this prize of being permanently known as the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

We, as the hospitality industry, along with the business community, elected officials, and the community as a whole, have an obligation to not let this extraordinary opportunity pass us by and to build a NASCAR Hall of Fame. This is not only to enhance our opportunities with racing business, but to retain hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs associated with racing, which may otherwise follow the NASCAR Hall of Fame and whomever that appreciates their business the most. We simply cannot afford not to be chosen for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and we as an organization, along with partners, will work with anyone who stands to benefit from this opportunity to build NASCAR a home where it belongs, right here in the Charlotte area.

Stay tuned as we have already begun this crucial process, and please call me at 704-331-0079 if you have any questions or would like to find out what you can do to help.

Congratulations and thanks to all of you HTA members and others who helped us build NASCAR a home, right here in Charlotte.

Charlotte’s New Aviation Museum Deserves Plane from Legendary Flight

Mohammad Jenatian HTA

After a safe and miraculous emergency landing in the Hudson River, US Airways Flight 1549 may finally be on its way towards its intended destination of Charlotte.

You may remember the day in January 2009 when this amazing landing captured the attention of people around the globe and worldwide media coverage, particularly due to the fact that all passengers aboard the flight departing from New York to Charlotte survived and were safely rescued from the Hudson River.

The remarkable landing, better known as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” pilot of the plane Captain Sully, who has become a national hero, and survivors who the majority of them live and work in Charlotte, have constantly been receiving media coverage due to the unbelievable nature of the landing and the near-death experience of survivors.

This event is a memorable one that will have historical significance for many years to come and even bigger inspirational messages to be told by survivors.

While the incident has been going through required investigations, the aircraft is now owned by an insurance company, is being stored in the New York area, and has recently been put on the auction block pending a finalized investigation.

This aircraft, with its huge popularity, is a tremendous tourism magnet waiting to happen and I have had the pleasure of working with the leadership of the Carolinas Aviation Museum to give Charlotte the opportunity of bringing Flight 1549 here. There have been numerous other cities and museums that are interested in capturing this treasure, but, as was with the case of the NASCAR Hall of Fame belonging to Charlotte, we have been relentless in working towards bringing the aircraft as a magnificent exhibit to Charlotte, which is where it was supposed to go.

Timing could not be more perfect for Charlotte to be the home for exhibiting the miraculous Flight 1549 due to the fact that we, as an organization (Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance), have also been working with our aviation museum towards expansion of their facilities and are proud to let you know that Charlotte is about ready to have a major aviation museum. It will be ready to open by July. Our existing Carolinas Aviation Museum (www.carolinasaviation.org), which was founded in 1992, has been displaying a collection of more than 50 historic aircrafts such as B-175, B-245, B-29, and many other historic items related to aviation in North and South Carolina, a flying Piedmont Airline DC3, and the best site to watch planes land and take off.

While the museum, which is located on the grounds of Charlotte Douglas International Airport (off Morris Field Drive), has been a nice visitors destination, it is not large and efficient enough to accommodate new aircrafts and exhibits to make it a major aviation museum. Well, that is about to change rapidly as the process has already begun to move the entire museum contents and operation to a great new neighboring location on the airport grounds with two indoor hangers totaling more than 50,000 square feet in space.

Stay tuned and get ready to be amazed with this new museum, which could perfectly accommodate Flight 1549 as an exhibit and should be its home. We’re working tirelessly to make that happen and I ask you to please contact me (mjenatian@charlottehta.com) if you need more information or would like to be involved with this exciting development.

Carolina Cooks Restaurant Equipment – 3915 Glenwood Drive, Suite A-7, Charlotte, 28208. We are a full service restaurant equipment dealer, offering both used and new equipment, restaurant furniture and smallwares. We have a large facility filled with used and new products. We are members of the Excell Foodservice Dealer Network and can offer highly competitive pricing on most major brands of restaurant equipment and supplies. For more information please contact Chip Cook @ (704) 393-7430 or email chip@carolinacooksequipment.com

Costco Wholesale – 500 Tyvola Road, Charlotte, 28217; 2125 Matthews Township Parkway, Matthews, 28105. Our warehouses and our website costco.com, offer an array of the highest quality products available from around the world. We are confident in the quality and value of our products and we stand behind them with our guarantee of satisfaction. There are two convenient locations to serve you. For more information, please contact Sonetra Stinson @ 704-501-2440 (w359mbr@costco.com) or Melinda Miranda @ 704321-7471 (w367mbr@costco.com).

Hospitality Education Services – 9716-B Rea Road, #128, Charlotte, 28277. Hospitality Education Services is the largest and most respected food safety training and certification company in NC. Let HES help you Raise-the-GrAde with ServSafe by attending one of their regularly scheduled certification classes held in a variety of locations throughout the Charlotte metro area or contact them to schedule a private training class! Their classes are guaranteed which means they meet the NC requirements to obtain the 2 point bonus on each health inspection, they do not cancel classes, and if a student does not pass the exam, the student can attend class and retest at no additional charge! For more information, please contact Sandy Hulbert at 704-574-8112 or visit our website www.raise-the-grade.com

Premier Hospitality Services, Inc – 6050 Tyvola Glen Circle, Charlotte, 28217. Premier Hospitality Services was established in 1994 by Doug Allen, CEC. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and an American Culinary Federation (ACF) Certified Executive Chef, Doug's experience in the foodservice and hospitality industry spans over twenty five years. His foodservice and consulting experience with some of the country's largest food distributors, manufacturers, brokers and restaurants combined with polished presentation and people skills have made him uniquely qualified to develop, demonstrate and promote product and culinary trends, as well as customize, reengineer and implement operations programs...consistently meeting the customer's / clients objectives and expectations. For more information, please contact Doug Allen at 704-905-6196 or email dougallenphs@gmail.com.

Simile Imaging Solutions, Inc. – 3400 International Airport Drive, Suite 900, Charlotte, 28208. Simile Imaging Solutions is an office equipment and managed print services provider headquartered in Charlotte. Simile represents Kyocera, Sharp & Muratec products, service and supplies. Mark Gasior is the Founder and President of the company. In the last eight years, Gasior's unsurpassed commitment to customer satisfaction has built his company's reputation as one of the leaders in the office equipment industry. Simile's progressive business strategies incorporating managed print services, green initiatives and prioritizing "service after the sale" is pioneering the company's transition to market-driven service. For more information, please contact Mark Gasior at 704-423-0100 or email mgasior@simile.com.

The Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance Mission Statement

The Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance (HTA) is a full time association representing more than 800 businesses in the greater Charlotte area. The organization was established in October 1994 by the leaders of different segments of the hospitality industry. This combined organization was created to respond to the need for a full time and privately funded organization which was required to represent this growing industry with a commitment to proactively influence decisions, eliminating industry related challenges and maximizing opportunities for our remarkable industry.

The industry currently generates nearly $3 billion in annual revenues and employs more than 60,000 people in Mecklenburg County. As a membership organization, our main objective is to accommodate various needs of our diverse membership. With that in mind, our primary focus is centered on efforts which will increase the bottom lines of our members’ businesses.

The Board of Directors of the HTA invites you to join us and become part of a winning team dedicated to pursuing excellence for our businesses and our community.