2006 Board of Directors Elected at AAHOA Convention
ATLANTA, GA – The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) held its 2006 election for the Treasurer position and various seats on its Board of Directors on March 24, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, during AAHOA’s annual convention and trade show.
For the first time in AAHOA’s history, the members elected the Treasurer. It is anticipated that the person elected to serve as Treasurer will succeed to the Chair position over the next four years. Following a debate among each of the four Treasurer candidates on issues such as finance, governance, franchise relationships, independent and women hoteliers, and commitment to service, the members cast their ballots. Tarun (Shilpam) “T.P.” Patel, AAHOA Director at Large of San Jose, California, won the Treasurer election.
Two incumbents won re-election to the Board of Directors, while other open seats were filled by newly-elected members. The incumbents are Kirit Bhakta, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, who was elected to a three-year term as Central Midwest Regional Director; and Alkesh R. Patel, of Portland, Oregon, who was elected to a three-year term as Northwest Regional Director.
Newly-elected members of the AAHOA Board include two regional directors: Raj Parikh, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, who will represent the Mid East region; and Ishwar L. Patel, of Jacksonville, Florida, who will represent the Florida region. Three new Directors at Large also were elected: Shailendra “Sam” Devdhara of San Francisco, California; Dharmesh “Dan” Patel of Lawrenceville, Georgia; and Hemant D. Patel of Miami, Florida. Two new female divisional Directors at Large were elected: Harshvina “Helen” Zaver of College Park, Georgia, was elected as the female Director at Large for the Eastern division; and Kalpana Patel of South Gate, California, was elected as the female Director at Large for the Western division.
“Each Director is a volunteer to AAHOA and donates his/her time and effort to make the Association thrive,” said Chairman Mukesh Mowji. “I look forward to working with the 2006 Board of Directors on the initiatives I outlined at the convention, and I’m convinced that—with their commitment—we can move AAHOA in the right direction for the good of all members.”
The following is a composite list of the 2006 AAHOA Board of Directors:
Executive Committee, Including Officers:
- Chairman: Mukesh J. Mowji, CHO, North Pacific Regional Director
- Vice Chairman: Dilipkumar R. “Danny” Patel, North Georgia Regional Director
- Secretary: Ashwin “Ash” Patel, Southwest Regional Director
- Treasurer: Tarun S. Patel, CHA, Director at Large
- Ex-Officio: Manhar P. “M.P.” Rama, CHA, Director at Large
- President: Fred Schwartz
- Hemalata “Hema” Patel (South Carolina Regional Director)
- Jay “Trini” Patel (North Carolina Regional Director)
- Mehul “Mike” Patel (North Texas Regional Director)
- Sanjay Patel (Southeast Regional Director)
- Shailesh “Sly” Patel (Washington District Regional Director)
- Vipin Patel (Director at Large)
Directors at Large:
- Shailendra “Sam” Devdhara
- ChandraKant I. “C.K.” Patel, CHO
- Dharmesh “Dan” Patel
- Hemant D. Patel
- Kalpana Patel (Female Director at Large for the Western Division)
- Harshvina “Helen” Zaver (Female Director at Large for the Eastern Division)
- Ketan M. Patel (Young Professional Hotelier Representative)
- Mark M. Davidoff (Allied Director)
Regional Directors:
- Central Midwest: Kirit Bhakta
- Central Pacific: Kaushik S. Patel
- Florida: Ishwar L. Patel
- Gulf: Anil N. Patel
- Mid East: Raj Parikh
- Mid South: Jayesh “Jay” Patel
- North Central: Devang “Dave” Patel
- Northeast: Dinesh “Dinsha” Patel
- Northwest: Alkesh R. Patel
- South Pacific: Bankim M. Patel
- South Texas: Hasu Patel
- Upper Midwest: Satish “Sunny” Gabhawala