NEWH - Fall 2012 - (Page 26)

Q&A One-on-one with Rich Gesteland, I got involved with the Las Vegas chapter to get to know our local hospitality community better and to give back at the same time. My first three years as treasurer and now my fourth as president have been very rewarding. I’ve become close to a number of great people that have worked on our board but, in addition, I’ve significantly increased my network within the architectural and design community. president of the Las Vegas chapter, and western territory manager for P ster Hospitality Why did you want to become involved in NEWH? What’s still to come? What has it done for you? This year we started working with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to propose an NEWH graduate assistantship for hospitality architecture. UNLV is the first and only graduate architectural program that has a hospitality track. As NEWH Inc. continues to broaden its reach within hospitality, we think an NEWH graduate assistantship awarded to one of our chapter scholarship recipients nationwide could be a great way to give back while at the same time raising our profile as a hospitality industry leader and grow our brand. Our chapter is doing its best to celebrate the positive signs in our local economy and help our members and others within the community to benefit from these improvements through effective networking and support. Our chapter is moving forward and growing with the rest of our local industry. I owned my own company representing world-class hospitality manufacturers and I now work for Pfister Hospitality as their western territory manager. Pfister Hospitality, a division of Stanley Black & Decker, has made great strides over the last five years introducing itself to the hospitality industry, a brand best known for its retail and commercial presence. Long before I joined the company, we made a splash in hospitality with our custom faucet capabilities by doing a two thousand-room project with the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort right here in Las Vegas. Our growth in hospitality has been exceptional ever since. I love hospitality for the type of individual it attracts, i.e. entrepreneurial, intellectually curious, creative and driven to succeed while serving others. It has made for an enriching and rewarding experience for me. Las Vegas is finally recovering, if slowly, from this recession. Big projects are back in play, including a $500 million expansion and renovation on the Strip by Caesars that will result in the tallest ferris wheel in the world surrounded by an exciting new restaurant and entertainment district. ❙❘❚ I’ve focused on three objectives during my tenure this year with the help of a great team built over the years by our local chapter. First, as our city has been ground zero for the great recession with a devastating effect on the hospitality community here, we’ve branded Vegas Renaissance: Hospitality’s Lead in the Recovery as our mantra for 2012-13. We recognize that while the hospitality industry was one of this recession’s greatest casualties in Vegas, with unemployment among architects and designers exceeding sixty five percent, it is also the industry that is contributing more than almost any other to our city’s rebound. We celebrate the people, places, and firms that persevered and survived through this downturn by holding all our events at venues that were either built or renovated since the 2008 crash. Second, we have launched a second major fundraiser (in addition to our HOSPY Awards) September 15th called Art of Design—inspired by Dallas’ Life of Design, it’s a design competition that will feature a different object every year (this year an Ikea chair) where we match design firm teams with hospitality vendors to collaborate on transforming this object into art. Our launch party, the July 28th Key Party, was a great success, with fifteen design firms participating from the Las Vegas area. Third, with the help of excellent leadership and support on our sustainability committee, we continue the good progress made last year to grow our profile in Las Vegas for environmentally responsible design and execution in hospitality. This year, we chose a Vegas Renaissance venue, the El Cortez, to host a panel of experts in sustainability and hospitality ownership that was highly productive and well received. What are some of the major initiatives you have implemented as president of the Las Vegas chapter? Where is the chapter headed? How did you get involved in the hospitality industry? Anything new and exciting with P ster? Why do you love this industry? What’s new and exciting in Las Vegas? 26 www.newh.org http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Fall 2012

NEWH - Fall 2012
Table of Contents
News
Who’s Who
Sustainability: Point of View
Sustainability: Conference Recap
Design 101
Icon of Industry
Q&A: Christine Wasmer
Q&A: Rich Gesteland
Have You Seen?
Product Know How
On the Scene
American Atelier
Project: Scarpetta Dining Pavilion
Project: St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
Save the Date
New Members
Partner Profiles
Ad Index

NEWH - Fall 2012