The California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA) elected its 2012 Board of Directors at its annual meeting this Wednesday, November 30th at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach. The 2012 chair will be Rick Anderson of the Casa Tropicana Inn, San Clemente. In addition, the elected officers for 2012 were announced as Allan Farwell, Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa (Vice Chair); Bimal Patel, CHA, Concept Hotels (Secretary/Treasurer); and Pam Richardson, CHA, Barmaper & Associates (Immediate Past Chairperson). Lynn Mohrfeld, CAE is the President & CEO of CH&LA.

Additionally, four new members were elected to the Board of Directors for 2012. René Boskoff of the Monterey Marriott Hotel, Dave Britton of the Holiday Inn Torrance, Bill Gunderson of the Anaheim Marriott Hotel and Bruce Abney of the El Morocco Inn, representing the California Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns (CABBI), which is part of CH&LA.

In his acceptance speech, chair-elect Anderson urged members to engage with the association and praised the association for its diversity in leadership. "It's a testament to the diversity of the industry that an owner of a small boutique property has been chosen to lead CH&LA", said Anderson. "I look forward to guiding the association this next year and working with our outstanding team in Sacramento to protect the lodging industry."

"2012 is gearing up to be an exciting time for the lodging industry," said Lynn Mohrfeld, CAE, CH&LA's President & CEO. "And under the guidance and leadership of an outstanding Board of Directors, I am confident that CH&LA will be set for yet another successful year."

About the California Hotel & Lodging Association

The California Hotel and Lodging Association is the leading resource and advocate for California's more than 6,000 hotels, motels and boutique inns that employ more than 235,000 workers. CHLA, established in 1893, is the largest state lodging industry association in the nation and is a partner with the American Hotel & Lodging Association. For more information, go to www.calodging.com.

Jennifer Flohr
916-554-2667
CH&LA