Dear GMBHA Members and Partners,

How lucky are we to be working in our vibrant hospitality industry here in Miami Dade County. We would like to thank our sponsors, TrueBlue Hospitality and IPFone, and our hotel hosts for our fabulous receptions at Hilton Miami Airport, Freehand Miami and last week's Thompson Miami Beach.

Our second annual fundraiser bowling tournament for the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT) was a great success again. Many thanks to our 10 teams and congratulations to our winning team Miami Dade College Culinary Institute. We were able to raise $2,500 for the AOHT.

Congratulations to our Chair Peggy Benua for being elected Chair, Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority for the next 2 years. The MBVCA is a grant giving organization with the overarching goal of promoting the City of Miami Beach. A special thanks to Steve Adkins, for his great leadership as Chair the past 2 years.

I am delighted to serve on the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Mgmt. New Dean's Advisory Council, Chaired by Philip Goldfarb, President and Chief Operating Officer of Fontainebleau Miami Beach. We will keep you apprised of our initiatives as we continue to work together to help ensure that graduates are well-prepared to contribute to the evolving needs of the hospitality and tourism industry. We hope you can support FIU's Hotel Appraising event with Steve Rushmore, Founder HVS on Monday March 9th.

Our association had the unique opportunity to partner with the City of Miami Beach and Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel in a public workshop to discuss North Beach revitalization. With over 100 in attendance at O Cinema in North Beach, our expert panel provided recommendations, creative ideas and next steps in working with the City of MB. Special thanks to City of MB Manager Jimmy Morales and our GMCVB Partners for their continued support.

On behalf of our talented GMBHA team, we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events and partner events.

Warmest personal regards,