The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), one of the leading forces in the hospitality industry, has elected new Board members to complete its Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 Board term. The elections were held Saturday, May 5 during the 2012 AAHOA Annual Convention & Trade Show at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. The AAHOA membership elected Jay R. "Jimmy" Patel, CHO as the association"s newest Secretary. Prior to his election to serve as Secretary, Jay "Jimmy" Patel served as the North Carolina Regional Director for AAHOA.

The 2012-2013 Board of Directors is comprised of the following Officers and Directors, with the terms of the newly elected members indicated below:

Officers

  • Chairman, Alkesh R. Patel, CHO
  • Vice Chairman, Mehul B. "Mike" Patel, CHA, CHO
  • Treasurer, Pratik R. Patel, CHA, CHO
  • Secretary, Jay R. "Jimmy" Patel, CHO
  • Ex-Officio/Past Chairman, Hemant D. "Henry" Patel, CHO
  • President, Fred Schwartz

Regional Directors

  • Central Midwest Regional Director, Paresh "Pete" Patel, CHA, CHO
  • Florida Regional Director, Jayesh "Jay" Patel, CHA
  • Gulf Regional Director, Nimesh A. "Nick" Zaver, CHO
  • Mid East Regional Director, Bhavesh B. Patel, CHO (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Mid South Regional Director, Ramesh K. "R.K." Patel, CHO (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • North Carolina Regional Director, Pratik Bhakta (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • North Central Regional Director, Dilipkumar S. "Dipak" Patel, CHO
  • North Georgia Regional Director, Atul G. Patel, CHO
  • North Pacific Regional Director, Suresh P. "S.P." Patel (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • North Texas Regional Director, Mehul B. "Mike" Patel, CHA, CHO
  • Northeast Regional Director, Jayesh R. Patel, CHO
  • Northwest Regional Director, Arvind G. Patel (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • South Carolina Regional Director, Mitesh Patel, CHA, CHO
  • South Central Texas Regional Director, Pratik R. Patel, CHA, CHO
  • South Pacific Regional Director, Anand G. Patel, CHO
  • Southeast Texas Regional Director, Dipak N. "Danny" Patel
  • Southeast Regional Director, Vacant (To be appointed by the Board)
  • Southwest Regional Director, Dinesh S. "Dan" Rama, CHO
  • Upper Midwest Regional Director, Chandresh Brahmbhatt (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Washington District Regional Director, Dharmendra Patel

Directors at Large

  • Director at Large, Bharat "Bruce" Patel, CHO
  • Director at Large, Hitesh "H.P." Patel, CHA, CHO
  • Director at Large, Jayesh "Jay" Lallu, CHO (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Director at Large, Jitendra "J.D." Deva (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Director at Large, Ketan Patel (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Director at Large, Satish "Sunny" Gabhawala, CHO
  • Female Director at Large, Eastern Division, Jagruti Panwala
  • Female Director at Large, Western Division, Komel "Tina" Patel, CHO (Elected to a 3-year term)
  • Young Professional Director, Dave Patel, CHO

Allied Director

  • Allied Director at Large, Faheem Khan, CHO Senior Vice President, Group Manager, Chase Paymentech

"I am very excited to work with this Board during my term as Chairman to further our aggressive agenda and carry on the great tradition of leadership at AAHOA," said Alkesh R. Patel, CHO, AAHOA Chairman. "As the voice of hotel owners in the industry, AAHOA is poised to go to even greater heights under our new Board."

"I am confident that this Board will further the hard work and accomplishments of the previous Board," said Fred Schwartz, AAHOA President. "Expectations will be high, as always, to strengthen the AAHOA brand and provide invaluable benefits for our members."

About AAHOA

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the nation, with Member-owned properties representing a significant part of the U.S. economy. AAHOA's 20,000 members own 60% of the hotels in the United States and are responsible for 1.7% of the nation's GDP. More than one million employees work at AAHOA member-owned hotels, earning $47 billion annually, and member-owned hotels support 4.2 million U.S. jobs across all sectors of the hospitality industry. AAHOA's mission is to advance and protect the business interests of hotel owners through advocacy, industry leadership, professional development, member benefits, and community engagement.

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