About AIHPAssociation of Independent Hospitality ProfessionalsAIHP_631ed2bc-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9The Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals (AIHP) is a non-profit organization created by its members to focus on best practices for success, for independent hospitality professionals and their allied partners. AIHP Board of DirectorsDean CarlsonChairperson -- The Mermaid and the Alligator, Key West, Florida -- Dean and his partner Paul have owned The Mermaid and the Alligator for almost 20 years. In addition, Dean has been the owner/partner of an extensive vacation rental real estate portfolio and a vacation rental property management firm, Rent Key West Vacations, for 22 and 15 years respectively. Dean is currently a Founding member of AIHP and part of the leadership team. Dean was a member of the Key West Innkeepers Association (KWIA) for nearly 20 years serving on the Board of Directors and as Chair. As Chairperson he oversaw the merging of the association into the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys & Key West, where he now serves as a Vice Chair. He is a member of the Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns (FBBI) where he also held a board position.Rick WolfVice Chair -- The B&B Team, Kennebunk, ME -- Rick is a partner with The B&B Team, a longstanding full service inn brokerage and consulting firm for the bed and breakfast, boutique hotel/motel, cabin/cottage and related lodging industries. Prior to The B&B Team, Rick and his wife Janet Wolf, were the former owners of the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine. Rick has an extensive consulting background and a corporate career in sales, marketing and brand development. He is part of the founding Leadership Team of the Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals (AIHP). Rick is the former President of the Board of Kennebunk’s Brick Store Museum and currently is a member of Select Registry’s Quality Assurance Task Force, a current member of Legislative Committee for Maine Innkeepers Association, a current board member of the Kennebunkport, Arundel Chamber of Commerce and a Corporator for Kennebunk Savings Bank. In is free time, he "runs" with the Kennebunkport Fire Department and was a nationally licensed EMT for 10 years with Kennebunkport Emergency Medical Services.Heidi LanfordSecretary -- The Iris Inn, Waynesboro, VA -- Heidi and her husband Dave have owned and operated the Iris Inn for seven years. Heidi has served on the Board of the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia for six years serving as Vice President, President and Past President. She served as a member of the regional organization, Bed and Breakfast of the Historic Shenandoah Valley, for 7 years and is a Founding Leadership Team Member of AIHP. Strategic leadership and management of high performance teams are skills she brings from her years in the corporate world.Dallas RennerTreasurer -- Retired Innkeeper, Hilton Head Island, SC -- Dallas and his wife Nancy owned and operated the Chocolate Turtle Bed & Breakfast in Corrales, New Mexico for 9 years. During that time Dallas served on the New Mexico Bed and Breakfast Association Board of Directors, and both Nancy and Dallas were active in various local and state tourism and hospitality organizations. Prior to entering the innkeeping world, Dallas owned a business consulting firm that specialized in providing financial and operational support for small high tech start up companies. For over 20 years before that, he was in corporate finance. Originally from Maryland and Delaware, they moved to New Mexico in 1999. They sold the Chocolate Turtle in 2013, but have continued to stay active in this wonderful industry since becoming emeritus innkeepers. Dallas enthusiastically became part of the leadership team that formed AIHP and he is excited and pleased to be a member of the Board of Directors. He currently makes his home in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, but still spends part of the year in New Mexico.Laura FerraryBella Roma Bed and Breakfast, Alburquerque, NM -- Laura is AIHP's newest board member, filling the un-expired term of Monique Greenwood. More information on Laura coming soon!Dan IngrahamAfton Mountain Bed and Breakfast, Afton, VA -- Dan and his wife Orquida have owned their B&B, an 1848 Victorian farmhouse in the foothills of Central Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, for 13 years. Dan has been a member of the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia (BBAV) for 13 years and served as a member of the BBAV board of directors for 5 years where he has held the offices of Vice President, President and Treasurer. Prior to his inn-keeping career, Dan worked mostly as a financial accountant for companies large and small in the Washington, DC Metro area, including several years of service for non-profit organizations, including Volunteers of America. Jim LeitchInn on Lake Granbury. Granbury, TX -- Jim and his wife Cathy have been innkeeper/owners for 10 years, building and renovated a lake front property that was built originally in 1880 converting it into an upscale 15 room inn with meeting facility on 3 acres. Jim has served as a Board member of the Texas B&B Association and is past chairman of the City of Granbury Tourism Advisory Board. He is currently serving another stint on the Granbury Tourism Board. Jim is a member of the Leadership Group to transition the Granbury city run CVB to a non-profit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) to promote tourism and attract visitors. He is a founding leadership member of a group that formed and directed the most popular wine and food festival in Granbury (now in its 6th year), is actively involved with the board of directors of the Granbury Opera House and very active with the City Council and the city CVB on various projects to promote and market tourism. Jim is also a Founding Leadership Team member of AIHP.Nancy MalikieGibson Mansion, Missoula, MT -- Missoula, Montana native Nancy Malikie and Tom, her husband of 30 years, own and operate Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast. Nancy worked in surgery as a first assistant and as an assistant director for almost 20 years. During that time she designed two Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Missoula. In 2001, Tom and Nancy purchased a 1903 Victorian home that had been relocated and left vacant. They purchased the home with the intentions to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast, fulfilling Tom’s dream. Nancy continued to work full time in the medical field and on weekends and evenings would assist Tom at the B&B. Nancy grew to love the B&B industry, and in 2007 they decided that she would resign from medicine and work full time in the B&B, allowing them to take the business to the next level, including weddings and events. She is actively involved in the Montana Bed and Breakfast Association as Convention coordinator for over seven years.Patricia McCauleyInsideOut Solutions Inc., Sequim, WA -- Pat has been involved in hospitality marketing for over 25 years. She owned Casoni's Restaurant, a nationally recognized, award-winning restaurant for 11 years and worked tirelessly for regional and state tourism destination marketing organizations. She has served as president of both the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Council in Washington State and the North Olympic Peninsula Visitors and Convention Bureau. After selling the restaurant Pat turned her small business marketing experience and passion for tourism into the company now called InsideOut Solutions. InsideOut Solutions is a destination marketing company with clients throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Her goal is to create marketing solutions that work for all types of destinations from small towns to lodging properties, to destinations.William MurrayMontford Inn, Norman, OK -- William has owned and operated the award-winning Montford Inn since 1994. The Montford Inn has been a Select Registry property since 1997 and William currently serves as District Co-Manager. He also sits on the board of Visit Norman CVB and is the immediate Past President. The Montford Inn has been featured on Fodor’s Special Places, Triple A Travel Guide, Mobil Guide, Traveling America’s Back Roads, Southern Living Magazine and Country Inns Magazine to name a few. Barry WernerScarborough Fair B&B, Baltimore, MD -- Barry Werner has owned and operated the multiple-award winning Scarborough Fair Bed & Breakfast in Baltimore, with his husband, Jeff Finlay, for eight years. Their property and its' food has been featured in many publications, online media and television. Barry has served on many volunteer boards, including Visit Baltimore’s LGBT Tourism Advisory Committee, local business associations, and is currently president of the Better Baltimore Bed & Breakfasts. Barry teaches design classes for an international home and living retailer and also educates small business owners on marketing, branding, and social media. Prior to innkeeping, Barry utilized his previous work to educate himself on the finer details needed to be a well rounded host. These experiences included working at Dean & Deluca, a florist/garden center, art/home décor stores and adult daycare centers. Barry looks forward to serving on the board to help not passively preserve the present, but rather to find the grand potential for the future of our industry, in technology, systems, education, and so very much more, seize it and then help everyone surpass their own goals of success. Barry is also a Founding Leadership Team member of AIHP.AIHP StaffRob Fulton, CAEChief Executive Officer -- Rob is AIHP's CEO leading the strategic plan and operations of the association. He is an energetic and experienced executive, with close ties to the industry and a deep knowledge and passion for the travel and small independent lodging community. He most recently was the President of the Pennsylvania Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (PACVB) and its 49 officially designated tourist promotion agencies (TPAs) and in 2012 he was part of the group that facilitated the creation of the Pennsylvania Association of Travel and Tourism (PATT) and was it's President and CEO. PATT served as the umbrella Travel and Tourism Association for Pennsylvania. Rob has spent the last ten years in Pennsylvania promoting the importance of travel, tourism, and the hospitality industry to the travelling public, governmental officials, and businesses that supply products and services to the industry. Rob is a native of Calgary, Alberta Canada and has lived all over the US. Rob is a graduate of Penn State's Pennsylvania Leadership Program. He currently resides in the Hershey, PA area with his wife Kelly and son Dean, and is a huge fan of the sitcom Seinfeld.Kathryn WhiteEducation and Events Manager -- As a member of the Leadership Team that founded AIHP, Kathryn initially served as Chair of the Education Committee and lead the team in planning and hosting the inaugural Knowledge Sharing Summit & Marketplace in Nashville. She is no stranger to creating, developing and planning conferences. She has spent the bulk of her professional life in marketing communications and event planning in the professional services industry and arts management organizations. Kathryn and her husband, Tom, owned and operated a seven-room B&B in southern Pennsylvania for just under fifteen years. She is passionate about her grandchildren, needlepoint, traveling and opera. Her goal is to attend performances in all the great opera houses throughout the world. Prague, La Scala, and Bayerische Staatsoper are high on the list! Michele McVay ArnoldAdvisor and Staff Emeritus -- Michele has been serving the innkeeping industry since 2008 and has a vast operations, program development and event production background including almost a decade in the hotel industry. Michele has been the life blood of AIHP since its inception. She worked diligently with our leadership team, the founding members and then the board of directors to get all the pieces of AIHP in place. Michele has stepped down from her role with AIHP to pursue more time with her family but she has agreed to continue to support AIHP in an advisory role when needed to make sure there is smooth transition and provide assistance in the future as needed.Mary HughesMembership Manager -- Mary Hughes is well known in the inn-keeping industry as editor of Inns Magazine for almost 2 decades. She is a marketing specialist and a professional writer. In her "spare time" Mary also owns her own wedding venue called Walkerbrae House & Weddings. Mary has been a speaker at both local and national inn conferences. Her success in business and her of knowledge of the industry make her a fantastic addition to the AIHP family.Emily SpiersAllied Partner Liaision -- Emily began working in the innkeeping industry in 2006 as an Assistant Innkeeper at a 12 room Select Registry inn in Ohio. The discovery was made that there was an industry to fit her personality - innkeeping. For over 5 years, she worked alongside some of the most well-respected, knowledgeable innkeepers and learned vital lessons about what makes an innkeeper tick, what drives them, and what matters to them. A passion was born. In 2010 she began working in membership in an industry association. While working in membership, she also took on the responsibility of working with vendors and expanded her experience to taking on the added responsibility of assisting with vendor management for two large national trade shows in addition to regional events. It was there in the vendor department that she figured out she deeply desired to connect members with innovative, cutting edge, efficient, and practical vendors. She has since set out on a mission to find those vendors and companies for the benefit of the industry When she’s not working, you can find her on her own small farm in Ohio's Amish area alongside her husband of 18 years, and two children, weeding her garden, pruning fruit trees, raising meat birds, bottle feeding calves, laughing at the antics of baby goats, herding turkeys, and breathing deeply the fresh air of rural life. If you can’t find her in any of those situations, have no fear. She's probably sitting on her back deck with a glass of sweet tea, reading a book on her Kindle.SO Tactics, Inc.Marketing and Communications -- SO Tactics has been helping associations with their communications needs since 2010. Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Maura Donley and Kathy Woolever help associations build value for their members through increased member involvement and interactions, relevant and frequent communications and information sharing.Maura DonleyMaura is responsible for business development, strategy, creative and technical writing and websitedevelopment. Maura has worked with a variety of small to medium sized companies and organizations, including healthcare providers, biotechnology and technology enterprises and startup companies.Kathy WooleverKathy has extensive experience in membership management. She specializes in utilizing technology and analytics to help membership organizations move their marketing, member retention and prospecting strategies to the next level. Most of Kathy's career has been focused on developing marketing and relationship management solutions for chambers and associations. Patricia BiermaControllerAIHP is a cohesive community of passionate and forward-thinking people who are the recognized thought leaders and voice within the industry serving as the standard-bearer of excellence among the small business lodging industry._631ed596-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9To promote and support the sustainability of small lodging hospitality establishments in a changing environment through networking, advocacy, professional development and progressive business practices. _631ed780-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9CommunityAIHP is committed to creating community, exchanging knowledge: including creating, curating, sharing and harvesting actionable understanding (research) and promoting, protecting and advocating for the industry.KnowledgeUnderstandingPromotionAdvocacyNetworkingProvide our members with access and opportunities to enhance their businesses._631ed88e-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa91NETWORKING - It's all about who you know. AIHP's professional staff has years of experience and established relationships within the industry. AIHP will leverage that experience and those relationships to provide our members with access and opportunities to enhance their businesses and the small lodging community - through AIHP's annual summit and other professional development opportunities. _631ee0ae-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9AdvocacyAdvocate for emerging issues impacting the hospitality industry._631ee0af-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa92Hospitality IndustryADVOCATE – AIHP will be the primary advocate for emerging issues impacting the hospitality industry on a national level. We will have clear established policy positions on critical initiatives that impact our industry._631ee0b0-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9Professional DevelopmentEnsure the value of the industry is conveyed in broadly understood terms._631ee0b1-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa93Small Hospitality EstablishmentsHospitality IndustryThe PublicElected OfficialsPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT -- Knowledge is power. AIHP wants its members, the public, elected officials and members of the industry to fully understand the importance hospitality plays in the economy, especially the small hospitality establishments. AIHP will work daily to ensure that information is communicated, and the value of the industry is conveyed in broadly understood terms. AIHP will create, develop and host compelling, informative and critical professional development opportunities for its members on a national, state and regional level._631ee0b2-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa9Business PracticesCreate opportunities for members to benefit and learn from each other._631ee0b3-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa94PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES – There's always someone who's already built the wheel, gained knowledge from attempts less successful, or sought partners to develop offerings, products, or new ventures. AIHP will open doors and create opportunities for its members to benefit and learn from each other. Diverse in its makeup, AIHP's members represent the multifaceted lodging industry and are uniquely positioned to promote best business practices through the hospitality community._631ee16c-7cee-11e6-8dbc-f93fdda96fa92016-09-17http://www.independent-innkeeping.org/aboutOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net