NHLRA Announces 2008 Stars of the Industry Finalists

Members of the restaurant and lodging community in NH will gather on Monday, October 27th to celebrate the best in Granite State Hospitality at the 94th Annual "Stars of the Industry" Awards Dinner. The event, hosted by the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association (NHLRA), will take place at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods.

NHLRA members were asked to nominate individuals for the 2008 "Stars of the Industry" Awards. More than 40 nominations were received and reviewed by an awards committee that is made up of past award winners. Three finalists were chosen in each of the following five categories: Innkeeper of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year, "Ed Bednarowski" Allied Member of the Year, Lodging Employee of the Year and Restaurant Employee of the Year.

"The finalists for the 2008 awards have provided leadership and exemplary service in the workplace, but they've also done far more than that," said Nancy Henderson, incoming Chairman of the Board for NHLRA. "They've stayed actively involved in their communities, inspired their coworkers to grow and raised the bar on professional standards in the industry. In honoring them, we are honoring the very best qualities in each of the 69,000 people who work in New Hampshire's restaurants and lodging properties."

Every year NHLRA members are inspired by the quality of the 'Stars of the Industry' nominations. Bob Arnold, NHLRA Awards Committee chair said "It's a difficult process to choose the finalists, but an extremely rewarding one. Reading about these 'star' colleagues, you get a clear picture of how much difference one person really can make. We congratulate the finalists and thank them for all of their hard work."

Finalists in each category are as follows:

Innkeeper of the Year:

• Bridget LeRoy - New London Inn, New London
• Karen Meyer Three Chimneys Inn, Durham
• Jennifer Tower The Common Man Inn, Plymouth

Restaurateur of the Year:

• Chris Kozlowski - Orchard Street Chop Shop, Dover
• Michael Buckley Michael Timothy's, Nashua
• Dick Delany Delany's Hole in the Wall, North Conway

"Ed Bednarowski" Allied Member of the Year:

• Susannah Smith - Coca-Cola of Northern New England, Manchester
• Debbie Frawley Drake - Lakes Region Linen, Laconia
• Dean Williams Martignetti Companies of New Hampshire, Manchester

Employee of the Year Lodging:

• Eric Pyra InnSeason Resorts, Lincoln
• Judy Lodge Sunset Hill House, Sugar Hill
• Melinda Cote New London Inn, New London

Employee of the Year Restaurant:

• Dwight Ike Garland The Wentworth, Jackson Village
• Mike Webb Pearl Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Peterborough
• Aaron Leighton The Common Man, Lago, Meredith

Honorees in each category will be announced Academy Awards-style at the dinner event. To purchase tickets to the Awards Dinner, please call NHLRA at 603-228-9585. Tickets are $75pp or $700 for a table of 10.

The NHLRA Expo 2008 will take place at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28th. Register for the Expo at http://www.nhlra.com.