Special Section: School of Hospitality Management

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Special Section: School of Hospitality Management

The School of Hospitality Management has reached a significant milestone this year; it is celebrating seventy-five years since its inception. A marquee event regarding the occasion was held on Blue-White weekend this past April. At the event, in addition to commemorating the school’s anniversary, Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society (PSHRS) honored Edward R. “Ned” Book ’54 HA with the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his lifelong contributions to the industry and to Penn State.

School of hoSpitality ManageMent

75th AnniversAry

Father and son Harry Gilbert ʼ54 HA and Ron Gilbert ʼ80 FS HA comprise one of the many multi-generation families to receive a hospitality management degree from Penn State.

Ned Book ʼ54 HA being served by the Nittany Lion mascot. The celebration served as a reunion for many alumni, including (L-R): Aileen

Konhauser ʼ42 H Ec, ʼ51g FS HA; Ted Balabanis ʼ55 HA; Harry Gilbert ʼ54 HA; Jack Heinze ʼ56 HA.

Faculty members Dan Mount (with his wife Kate) and Pete Bordi ʼ76 FS HA, ʼ81g M E R.

The wonderful service and decor provided by Jim Purdum ʼ77 FS HA and his staff at the Nittany Lion Inn.

Alumni and friends enjoy conversation during the reception (L-R): Sue Paterno ʼ62 LIB, Jack Diehl ʼ54 BUS, Mary Jane Heinze ʼ60 LIB.

Co-master of ceremonies John Black ʼ62 LIB speaks during the dinner program.

Wade McCorkel ʼ10 Eng, Amanda Liddick ʼ11 HDFS, Melissa Book, Franco Harris ʼ72 FS HA, Eric Book ʼ12 HR&IM, Ned Book ʼ54 FS HA.

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Special Section: School of Hospitality Management

Ned Book is presented with the PSHRS Lifetime Achieve-ment Award (L-R): John Heinze ʼ57 HA, co-master of ceremonies; Nan Crouter, Raymond E. and Erin Stuart Schultz Dean, College of Health and Human Develop-ment; Ned Book ʼ54 HA; Tom Riley ʼ91 LE ST, PSHRS president.

Joe McCann ʼ78 FS HA was one of several guest speak-ers to share reflections on the schoolʼs 75th anniversary and Ned Bookʼs Lifetime Achievement Award.

(L-R): Phoebe Seiverling ʼ04 HRIM; Sara Parks ʼ97g EDU; Henry Parks; Maisie Seiverling ʼ71 LIB, ʼ82 LAW.

Ned Book ‘54 HA is presented with proclamations from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (L-R): John OʼNeill, director, School of Hospitality Management; Tom Riley ‘91 LE ST; Ned Book ʼ54 HA; John Heinze ʼ57 HA.

(L-R): Jim Keiser, Ted Farrand ʼ71 FS HA, Tim Colligan ʼ86 HRIM.

Students participate in the celebration (L-R): Megan Taylor, Jenna Lucas, Nittany Lion mascot, Jasmine Franklin, Justine Laniewski ʼ12 HRIM, John Ventura, Brett Ehrhardt ʼ12 HRIM, Christina Jacoby, Eric Book ʼ12 HRIM.

(L-R): Joan Beiter, Bill Lindsay ʼ53 HA, Christine Gallo, Jack Beiter ʼ52 EDU.

Jim Purdum ʼ77 FS HA and Barbara Purdum ʼ99, ʼ01g NURS.

(L-R): John Heinze ʼ57 HA, Kathy Heinze, Rob Grimes ʼ80 FS HA, Mary Jane Heinze.

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Special Section: School of Hospitality Management

Ned’s career in the hospitality industry be-gan in 1951 at Howard Johnson’s Restau-rant, where he continued to work on week-ends and summers while attending Penn State. The restaurant was run by two Penn State alumni—Dick Myers and Don Cava-naugh—and this would be the first of many alumni interactions throughout Ned’s ca-reer in the industry.

After graduating from Penn State in 1954 with a degree in hotel administration and the ROTC program, Ned spent four months in the Army Basic Infantry Officer Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then stationed in Germany from 1955 to 1956, followed by Fort Dix, N.J., where he trained recruits in the Army.

After his time in the service, Ned returned to the hospitality industry with Howard Johnson’s Restaurants in Gettysburg, Pa. His career progressed in management at the Harrisburger Hotel, the Hotel Bethlehem, and Cleveland’s Hospitality Motor Inn.

In 1969, his career took off when he was hired as general manager of the Hotel Her-shey. In 1974, he was elected president, chairman, and chief executive officer of Hershey Estates, later to be renamed Her-shey Entertainment and Resorts (HERCO).

Under Ned’s leadership, HERCO went through significant expansion and develop-ment, which gave the company a national reach. Described by his peers as an inspira-tional and visionary leader, Ned implement-ed a strategy to geographically diversify the company in the wake of the Three-Mile Island nuclear accident, the Polio outbreak, and the gas crisis that drastically affected the region. He also oversaw property en-hancements in Hershey, as well as expan-sion through acquisition and development in the Poconos and in Connecticut and Texas. Ned was a great believer in educa-tion; as a result, he implemented progressive training for his managers and employees. He also created a salary administration pro-gram with equity; met with employees on a

honoring a lifetiMe of achieveMent

edwArd r. Book ’54

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regular basis; and formed an employee as-sociation with social activities, an employee newsletter, and discount cards for employ-ees to use company facilities.

Ned left HERCO in 1987 to serve as presi-dent and chief executive officer of the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), known today as the U.S. Travel Association (USTA). During that time, the TIA repre-sented all components of the $397-billion travel industry with a mission to promote travel to and within the United States. Ned is credited with helping to unify the indus-try by developing more proactive, aggressive strategies and programs, including leading the industry’s efforts to increase international visitation. TIA’s highest category of member-ship jumped 400 percent during his tenure.

Ned also is recognized for broadening TIA’s scope. He spearheaded the industry’s efforts to combat crime by introducing a three-point plan calling for gun control, and he joined forces with both government and the World Tourism Organization to draw attention to this worldwide problem. In a battle against what he saw as unfair taxes, he helped to devel-op, along with the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the Campaign to Keep Travel

Competitive, which was housed at TIA. Ned was quick to voice the industry’s boycotts, and he assisted in forming the African Ameri-can Travel and Tourism Association. He was also instrumental in bringing about the first-ever White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Ned retired from the TIA in 1994 after a tremendous career serving the hospital-ity industry for more than forty years.

Ned’s contributions to the industry as a lead-er and to Penn State as a volunteer are far reaching and have carved a path for success and progress that we continue to enjoy today.

Despite a very busy executive agenda, Ned made time to volunteer both in and out of the industry. During his career, he was a volunteer with TIA since 1974 and served as the nation-al chair from 1981 to 1982. He also served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Travel Industry Advisory Council, and he was a trustee of the American Hotel and Motel Association. Ned continues to serve the State College commu-nity, and he serves in many capacities for orga-nizations such as SCORE, the Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center, WBCA Pink Zone, the Penn State All-Sports Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art, and the Village Heights Condo Association.

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Special Section: School of Hospitality Management

Ned received the Alumni Fellow Award from Penn State in 1981 and the Penn State Hotel and Restaurant Society’s Hospitality Execu-tive of the Year Award in 1984. He continues to serve as a Conti Professor in the School of Hospitality Management. In 1986, he received Penn State’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed upon Penn State alumni. He is a past president of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Penn State Hotel and Restaurant Society, and he has served on

the Penn State Board of Trustees. While serv-ing on the Penn State Board of Trustees he was vice president of the board from 1982 to 1985.

Ned and his wife Inga have been married for fifty-nine years and currently reside in State College. They first met at a Penn State freshmen orientation event and later mar-ried during Ned’s junior year. The couple has three children—Sandy, Ed, and Fred—and five grandchildren.

penn State Hotel & Restaurant SocietyPSHRS seeks to unite alumni of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management (and alumni of predecessor majors) in order to serve alumni, students, and faculty and staff members of the School of Hospitality Management. Below is an update from the PSHRS president about current activities and ways to get involved.

PSHRS held its annual Alumni Awards reception on October 5, 2011, at the Nittany Lion Inn. Bruce Thomas ’80 FS HA, vice president, guest services, Geisinger Health Systems, received the Alumnus of the Year Award. Michael Pajak ’06 HRIM, manager, global feasibility and investment analysis, Hilton Worldwide, and Leigh Silkunas ’08 HRIM, area revenue manager, Kimpton Hotels, received Emerg-ing Undergraduate Professional Awards. Peeranee Musigchai ’04 MHRIM and Suksan Ruangpattana ’04 MHRIM, co-owners, Cozy Thai Bistro, State College, received the Emerging Graduate Pro-fessionals Award. The reception was held in conjunction with the an-nual “Alumni in the Classroom” program, for which sixty-five alumni returned to engage students and speak in the classroom.

In November, PSHRS honored Randy Smith, chairman and co-founder of STR, as the Hospitality Executive of the Year during a reception at the Kimmel Center at New York University.

PSHRS will be hosting the annual alumni summer weekend, fea-turing the School of Hospitality Management reception and the Benefield Bash on July 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.

The PSHRS career opportunities/alumni job board is available to alumni and industry partners posting open positions and seeking employment (183 positions posted in 2011). View postings as well as other activities and event information at the PSHRS website.

connect with the affiliate program GroupWebsite

www.pshrs.org

APG President

Tom Riley ’91 LE STtom.riley@kimptongroup.com

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