John Q. Hammons Receives IAHI Kemmons Wilson Award
ATLANTA, GA, October 16, 2006. Hotel industry veteran Mr. John Q. Hammons was presented with the 2006 IAHI Kemmons Wilson Service Award during the 2006 InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Americas Investors & Leadership Conference held October 4-6 in Toronto.
IAHI, the Owners' Association of IHG, bestows the award annually in honor of the late Mr. Kemmons Wilson, the hospitality industry pioneer who created the Holiday Inn brand in 1952 and launched the IAH to represent his franchisees in 1955. The award is presented to a hospitality leader who serves their community and embodies the standards and beliefs set forward by Mr. Wilson. Mr. Hammons is founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC.
Mr. Hammons, a leading industry innovator for nearly half of a century, heads the nation's leading independent builder, developer, owner, and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites. The company's 70 hotels are situated near major demand generators such as office parks, airports and universities. Among the various hotel flags, Mr. Hammons' company owns 12 Holiday Inn properties.
"Mr. Hammons' foresight, dedication to his employees and guests, and years of nurturing and supporting worthwhile causes make him the perfect individual to receive this honor," says IAHI Chairman Michael Hoffman, president of Turf Hotels, Inc. in Albany, NY.
Mr. Hammons entered the hotel industry in 1958 and joined Mr. Roy E. Winegardner to purchase the first 10 Holiday Inn franchises from Mr. Kemmons Wilson. Winegardner & Hammons Incorporated (WHI) of Cincinnati, a hotel development company, was formed in 1961. By the late 1960s, WHI had constructed nearly three-dozen Holiday Inn hotels. Mr. Hammons formed John Q. Hammons Hotels in 1969.
Mr. Hammons has been recognized over the years not only for his work as an hotelier, but for his philanthropic efforts and initiatives. The Missouri native has donated more than $100 million to the city of Springfield and other organizations over the last 50 years. Some of his most notable efforts include funding the Hammons Heart Institute and Hammons Life Line helicopter for St. John's Regional Health Center in Springfield; the Hammons Student Center, Hammons Fountains, and Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University; the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University; and Hammons Field, home to the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A Minor League team, the Springfield Cardinals.
Hammons is the third recipient of the IAHI Kemmons Wilson Service Award.
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