PHOENIX, Nov. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Board of Directors of Best Western International, Inc., has named Charles Helm its chairman, effective November 6. Other Board announcements include Roman Jaworowicz as vice chairman and David Francis as secretary/treasurer.
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Helm, who served as secretary/treasurer when he joined the Best Western Board in 2005, was most recently vice chairman. He replaces Raymond Johnston who, having served his one-year term as chairman, remains a Board director. Helm co-owns and operates the Best Western Crown Colony Inn & Suites in Lufkin, Texas. He has been a member of Best Western since 1982, serving as a Board-appointed Governor for 16 years while active on numerous advisory committees, including the company's Executive Marketing Advisory Committee, the Membership Development Committee and the Supply Committee. He currently chairs the Audit Committee. Well respected in the business and civic communities of northeast Texas, Helm is a former member of the Texas Hotel Motel Association's Board of Directors. He also served as president of the Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation. Helm is a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and represents Best Western members in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Jaworowicz is a veteran hotelier and president of the Highland Inn Corporation, which owns and operates the Best Western Highland Inn and Conference Centre in Midland, Ontario. Active in Canadian tourism and commerce, he is a member of the Midland Rotary Club and a founding member of the Midland Penetanguishene Tourism Consortium. Involved in nearly all facets of marketing, Jaworowicz most recently was president of the Best Western Marketing Co-op and a member of the CEO Roundtable. He is a CHA and a two-time Best Western INNfluence Award recipient for both worldwide communications and community affairs. Jaworowicz represents Best Western members in Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.
Francis has served on the Board since 2005 and has been a Best Western member since 1991. He co-owns and operates the Best Western of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Va. With more than 25 years of experience, Francis is a CHA who has held various leadership roles within Best Western, including past chair of the Marketing Advisory Committee and the Mid-Atlantic Co-op, in addition to his current position as chairman of the Communications Committee. Francis represents Best Western members in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.
Best Western International is celebrating its 60th Anniversary as a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels that provides marketing, reservations and operational support to its members. Growing from a string of roadside motels starting in 1946 Long Beach, Calif., to THE WORLD'S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN(r) with more than 4,200 hotels in 80 countries, Best Western is one of the industry's most endearing iconic brands.
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