The 75th Annual Short Course and the 14th Annual Advanced Short Course hosted the “superstars” of our industry from January 6–10, 2020, at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management in Houston.
This one-of a-kind, all-in-one hospitality training event – recognized by the International Society of Hotel Association Executives – proved once again to be the “Best Educational Program” in the nation for those students handpicked by their hotel management to attend.
Students at Short Course are split into three different team-building color groups. At the end of the week, one individual from each group is named “Outstanding Student” based on votes by their peers, final test grades and class participation. The three Outstanding Students from the 2020 Short Course were:
• Rosa Martinez, Front Desk Agent, Hotel Emma, San Antonio
• Shay Wheeler, Assistant Manager, Four Seasons Houston
• Greta Barsun, Accounting Clerk, The Historic Menger Hotel, San Antonio
From this distinguished list, one student was awarded the Dr. James Taylor Outstanding Student Award. Dr. Taylor taught Short Course and inspired our students for an amazing 47 consecutive years! This year’s Dr. James Taylor Outstanding Student Award recipient was Greta Barsun, Accounting Clerk at The Historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio, TX.
Anita Smith, Revenue Manager at the Hilton Americas Houston, earned the Top Scoring Student Award.
2020 CORPORATE CHALLENGE
Each year, THLA challenges Texas hotel companies to send ten or more of their top employees to Short Course. THLA thanks the following companies who met our 2019 Corporate Challenge and supported this incredible event:
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Hotel Emma
Marriott Hotels
Omni Hotels & Resorts
San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association
OUR INSTRUCTORS
The week was filled with programs on virtually every major facet of hotel operations, from hotel law to sales and marketing to housekeeping and human trafficking. Each topic was presented by hospitality figures of international reputation. THLA is grateful to our esteemed instructors who support this unique event – thank you so much!
Justin Bragiel, General Counsel, Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, Austin
Cathy Cheatham, Instructional Assistant Professor, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Steve Cunningham, General Manager, Hilton University of Houston, Houston
Mary Dawson, Assistant Dean, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Agnes DeFranco, Professor & Distinguished Chair, U of H/Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Erin Goodell, CHE, Assistant Professor, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Doug Horn, General Manager, Houstonian Estates, Houston
Scott Joslove, President and CEO, Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, Austin
Craig Krause, Owner, Direct Development Training, Georgetown
Mel Kleiman, President, Humetrics, Inc., Houston
Juan Madera, Assistant Professor, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Carolyn McCall-Squires, Director of Membership, Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, Austin
Melissa Manske, MHM, Conrad N. Hilton College of HRM, Houston
Karen McCullough, Speaker, Karen McCullough & Company, Houston
Cindy Novotny, Master Connection Associates, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Garvin O’Neil, Professor of Practice-Hospitality & Retail Management, Texas Tech University
David Rivera, Ph.D., Freytag Professor, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL
Maggie Rosa, General Manager, C. Baldwin, Curio Collection by Hilton, Houston
Steve Rudner, Attorney at Law, Rudner Law Offices, Dallas
Christy Spradling, Associate Director of Membership, Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, Austin
SCHOLARSHIPS
THLA thanks the following local hotel associations for providing scholarships to the annual Short Course and for realizing that this experience not only enhances a student’s career, but also benefits other employees and the hotel where the student returns to work. Short Course scholarships were provided by:
El Paso Hotel & Motel Association
Greater Corpus Christi Hospitality Association
Hotel Association of Tarrant County
Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Houston
San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
• Our Short Course 2020 Chairman: Fred Domenick, The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center
• Hilton University of Houston
Short Course Sponsors
Landry’s Inc.
PSAV
We would like to give our sincere thanks to all of the Short Course and Advanced Short Course students, speakers and sponsors for making this year such a success! Save the date for the 76
76th Annual Short Course, January 11-15, 2021.