In mid-October, Pensacola welcomed a group of seven Palestinians serving as hotel general directors and managers from Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Gaza.
Though this group was only in town for a few short days, those days were packed full of activities. The Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front gladly opened its doors to the group for a full morning of active discussions on a whole range of hotel management issues including advertising, marketing, sales, human resources, training, billing, food and beverage, and “green” hotel practices. Gina Dudley, General Manager, stopped by to welcome the group to the Hilton and speak about how she worked her way up the hospitality management ladder. Susan Jones-Curry, Group Sales Manager, also addressed questions concerning sales and marketing and was the point person responsible for arranging the meeting agenda along with James Crowder. Other speakers addressing the group included Kelli Sprague, Sales Assistant, Karen Beaugh, Human Resources Manager, Jimmy Dudley, Banquets Manager, Romeo Amodo, Food and Beverage Manager, and Shane Hall in accounting.
The group appreciated the refreshments provided during the meeting as well as the upgraded room accommodations given as a surprise hospitality measure courtesy of the Hilton Hotel.
The group next met with Laura Lee, Media and Communications Manager at the Pensacola Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Laura discussed the tourist industry in Northwest Florida including creative ways in which the local area has responded to the challenges faced since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Marketing intern, Nicole Stacey, joined in the discussion. Proving herself to be a true host, Laura gave each of the visitors a Pensacola t-shirt to remember their time with us.
To round out their day, the group then joined Dr. John Todorovich, Chair of the Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science Department at the University of West Florida, which offers a degree program in Hospitality, Recreation, and Resort Management. UWF Professors Steven Philipp, Andy Holdnak, and Xuan Van Tran also participated in the discussion which included an offer to form an educational exchange program between UWF and Palestinian Universities offering hospitality management classes both on campus and online. Dr. Todorovich also accompanied the visitors on a campus tour of his newest leisure facilities and presented each visitor with Honorary Citizenships courtesy of the Mayor of Pensacola.
After some local souvenir shopping, the group enjoyed an evening relaxing by the pool on Pensacola Beach and discussing plans to visit again soon with friends and family.
A special thank you goes out to Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council members Brian and Vicki Barlow, Hilda and Ray Jones, Jena Melançon, and Buddy Gissendanner for inviting the group to dinner parties in Pensacola and Cantonment
