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BWH HOTEL GROUP has announced the recipients of the first ever David and Louise Kong Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship grants financial assistance to individuals associated with Best Western Hotels & Resorts. The four winners are Alexis Heichman of Eagle, Ashley Hernandez, of Patterson, and Phoenix residents Katerina Rose Levendi and Kayla McMahon, the group said in a statement. They will receive $12,000 as part of funding. Heichman will begin her journalism studies at Arizona State University this fall. She wants to be a travel, cultural or sports correspondent. Hernandez will continue her bachelor's degree studies in hotel and hospitality management. She is currently the general manager of the Best Western Plus Villa Del Lago Inn. Levendi now studies business at Paradise Valley Community College and wants to become a human resources manager. McMahon will start studying business administration and management at Arizona State University this fall. Her career interests is in family law and business. The scholarship is given to member hoteliers or their children, hotel staff or their children, and corporate associates or their children, the statement added.

THERE WAS A family in need, and California hotelier Sunil "Sunny" Tolani could not stand by and idly watch. So, he took action, even though the family was thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. A young girl's life was literally at stake. And now, Tolani is joining an effort to help other refugees from the war-torn country. It began when Tolani saw the story in the Wall Street Journal of Najiba, a 3-year-old girl who was facing being sold to a man to cover her family's $550 debt to the man. Najiba's mother, Saleha, is a housecleaner in western Afghanistan earning only 70 cents a day cleaning homes and her elderly husband does not work at all,according to the non-profit Afghan Assist. Saleha has six children altogether and also raises the children of her sister who died in childbirth. Najiba would not marry the man to whom the family owes money,the charity said.

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RED ROOF IS putting its money to good use, fighting human trafficking in cooperation with anti-child trafficking and exploitation organization ECPAT-USA. The hotel company and the not-for-profit kicked off their new partnership with a $10,000 check presentation at the AAHOA 2022 Annual Conference & Trade Show last week. Red Roof is a member of ECPAT-USA's Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct, known as "The Code," a voluntary set of business principles travel and tour companies can implement to prevent sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. Through the summer months, Red Roof also will promote The Code and encourage more donations from its franchise partners and vendors and the entire hospitality industry. "Red Roof stands shoulder-to-shoulder with ECPAT-USA," said George Limbert, president of Red Roof. "We encourage all of our partners and peers in travel and hospitality to join us and stand by ECPAT-USA in the fight against human trafficking."

Jessica Brady is now the vice president of federal affairs for tax policy at the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Prior to joining AHLA, Brady served as the senior director of federal government relations at the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., focusing on tax, trade, and other key issues. Before DISCUS, Brady led budget and appropriations advocacy as the associate director of global development policy and advocacy at Save the Children, AHLA said. She also handled congressional affairs and engaged in multilateral diplomacy at the State Department as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program. "Jessica's extensive tax expertise and profound understanding of the federal policymaking process will prove invaluable for our members as we navigate a myriad of crucial tax issues in 2024 and beyond," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "This addition reinforces AHLA's commitment to securing policy victories for hoteliers."

THE RECENTLY INTRODUCED "Halting of Trafficking and Exploitation in Lodging" Act would encourage federal employees traveling for business to choose hotels with anti-human trafficking programs. The legislation also would ensure that the U.S. government's preferred accommodations for conferences and employee travel are committed to training staff to recognize, prevent and respond to human trafficking. The bipartisan HOTEL Act, introduced by Reps. Chris Smith and Raja Krishnamoorthi on Sept. 19, gained support from anti-trafficking organizations and lodging associations, including the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Protecting All Children from Trafficking and Hope for Justice. Smith, who has authored five laws to combat human trafficking, argued that hotels are key locations for identifying and addressing sex and labor trafficking.

IHG HOTELS & RESORTS recently entered a multi-year partnership with global NGO Action Against Hunger to address food insecurity and hunger affecting millions globally. The collaboration will support the NGO's efforts to prevent, detect and treat malnutrition in children through its "screen, treat and sustain" program operating across multiple continents, IHG said in a statement. IHG, operating thousands of hotels in more than 100 countries, supports food security, disaster relief and skills training, pledging to improve 30 million lives in its "Journey to Tomorrow" plan. "Food sits at the heart of our hotels and hospitality, nourishing people and communities, and yet sadly we know it remains in desperately short supply for millions of people, despite enough being produced to feed everyone on the planet," said Elie Maalouf, IHG's CEO. "This is a problem the world can solve if societies, organizations and businesses work together. IHG Hotels & Resorts is proud to partner with Action Against Hunger on their life saving work, in addition to the many other long-standing partnerships we have with incredible charities in local markets. Collectively we want to help create lasting change in a world where people are nourished, always welcome, and always respected."

GREAT PLACE TO Work certification program and Fortune magazine recently named Hilton as the "No. 1 Best Company to Work For in the U.S." for the second consecutive year. It was the company's 10th appearance on the list and fourth overall ranking in the No. 1 spot. According to Hilton, its workplace culture is designed to support inclusion, wellness, growth and purpose for its team members around the world. The company offers benefits to both hourly and salaried employees in the U.S. including wellness offerings designed to help team members care for themselves as well as their children, parents, siblings, pets or others who need care. That includes mental wellbeing benefits, $5 co-pays for behavioral health visits and free access to caregiving concierge benefits through Hilton's partnership with caregiving concierge service, Wellthy.

THE PASSING OF former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29 left the nation in morning. For Sharad Patel, it marked the loss of a longtime friend and inspiration. Patel is the former owner and operator of The Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia, where Carter sometimes stayed. The ex-president was more than just a guest, however. "So many good memories spending time with him, whether it's building houses for Habitat for Humanity or coming to the Windsor for dinner, or whether it's an Indian night or involving his project in Plains where he restored the Plains Inn." Carter, who was the 39th president of the U.S. and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, was 100 when he died at his home in Plains, Georgia, according to his obituary. He the longest-lived president in U.S. history and is survived by his children, Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy, as well as 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

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