“荣誉堂”智囊团（THINK TANK）的年度交流会现场。
10月18日在休斯顿大学内的希尔顿酒店的宴会厅里隆重举办了一年一度传统的“荣誉堂”智囊团（THINK TANK）的年度交流会，今年出席的演讲嘉宾包括：金棕榈国际有限公司CEO – JOANNA XIE，谢晓兰；双椒餐厅的董事长 – 杨玉楠 女士；PELI 餐厅的副董事长 - THOMAS NGUYEN。其中JOANNA XIE 谢晓兰女士是唯一代表酒店管理行业的华人，杨玉楠女士和THOMAS NGUYEN是代表餐饮行业的华人和越南籍人士，三位嘉宾的出席是为了分享和交流东、西方特别是亚洲对美国旅游文化特别是酒店业和餐饮业的影响及未来发展趋势。
三位亚裔年轻企业家在“荣誉堂”上与学生们分享成功经验。
世界上赫赫有名的“康拉德希尔顿学院”设有一个专属于酒店管理专业系的“荣誉堂”，里面囊括了酒店业界里的最杰出代表人士，其中包括了酒店业界的大亨J.W.万豪，康拉德·希尔顿，华特迪士尼，霍华德舒尔茨和克里斯·纳赛塔。在过去的22年里，这个传统的“荣誉堂” THINK TANK智囊团交流会的年度活动是由学生管理团队主办，组织和执行，他们共同为了这个世界领先行业之一 ---- “酒店餐饮管理”感兴趣而共同创办此年度活动。每年的10月中旬，学院会在休斯顿大学内的希尔顿酒店里举办一系列为期仅仅两天的教育智囊团交流会议，并为这些到来此会尊贵的行业嘉宾和杰出领袖安排了庆祝晚宴。通过各种令人振奋的、不同主题和不同专业学系相关的Think Tank交流会议，激发Conrad N HILTON康拉德希尔顿大学的学生，让学生们通过嘉宾和行业领导们亲身经验的分享深度学习并发掘自己，传承康拉德希尔顿本人的酒店餐饮管理精神。
此次传统交流会上，主要由智囊团里的三名行业专业人士介绍自己在酒店、餐饮行业的背景和经验，讨论当今东、西方特别是亚洲对美国酒店及餐饮业文化的影响及其相关的主流话题和未来趋势，以及与学生直接交流的Q&A问答。
JOANNA XIE 谢晓兰小姐
“荣誉堂”会上JOANNA XIE 谢晓兰小姐向现场将近70位的酒管学生们介绍了自己在酒店业将近8年的亲身体会和7年在不同外国的领事馆背景，分享了最近5-8年内的东西方旅游发展数据和特大转变及动向，深度讲解了外来投资和外来移民政策对美国文化特别是酒店业的影响。双椒餐厅的董事长杨玉楠女士介绍了自己从医学界医生博士学位毕业到选择自己拥有餐饮事业的转变，分享了亲身经验及自己对东西方餐饮业的看法。PELI PELI的董事长THOMAS NGUYEN介绍了自己是越南籍的背景、同时拥有在休斯顿5家南非式口味的餐厅，分享了自己对东西方餐饮业的看法，和自己喜爱不断创新的精神。
学生向主讲嘉宾提问
随后，现场学生们问了一些有关亚洲酒店和餐饮文化的问题，嘉宾们一一作具体回答。整个交流会议现场气氛非常活跃，原定60分钟的会议在正式结束时长达了90分钟。谢晓兰小姐告诉记者们说：“我当天晚上6点半时还收到其中一位志愿者的学生紫玉给我发来的短信息，说她们还在会后的讨论当中，她们觉得今天的交流会是一个很棒的分享，信息量很大，她们都很感动，也再次衷心地感谢我在会议中的精彩发言和对她们此次传统活动的大力支持。”
学生们听了三位年轻成功的企业家的分享非常的激动，很多学生在会议结束后向主讲嘉宾索取联系方式，希望嘉宾能给他们将来创业之路给予指点。
三位主讲嘉宾与活动发起人Tiffany Shin
On October 18th, 2017, the 22nd Annual Hospitality Industry Hall of Honor Think Tank Series was successfully held at the ballroom of Conrad Hilton Hotel at the University of Houston. The theme of the 22nd annual event is “From East to West- Hospitality Trends in Asia” and has honorably invited 3 panelists of: Ms. Joanna Xie- CEO & Owner of GoldenPalm International, Ms. Yunan Yang- Owner of Pepper Twins and Mr. Thomas Nguyen- Co-Founder of Peli Peli as the panelists. Ms. Joanna Xie is the only Chinese representative from Hotel Management industry; Ms. Yunan Yang and Mr. Thomas Nguyen are the Chinese and Vietnamese representatives from Restaurant (F&B) industry.
The Conrad N. Hilton College features a Hospitality Industry Hall of Honor, which includes distinguished members of the hospitality industry. Over 60 men and woman have been inducted into the Hall of Honor, including renowned hospitality icons like J.W. Marriott, Conrad N. Hilton, Walt Disney, Howard Schultz, and Chris Nassetta. For the past 22 years, the event is hosted, organized, and executed by a team of student managers. Together they create educational resources for students and individuals who have an interest in one of the world’s leading industries. In mid-October, the college hosts a series of educational Think Tanks over the course of two days and a celebratory dinner to honor the distinguished leaders of the industry. To inspire the Conrad N. Hilton College students through a variety of thought provoking Think Tank sessions, to allow student managers to develop through leadership experiences, and to leave a legacy for the hospitality industry by recognizing and inducting influential leaders into the Hospitality Industry Hall of Honor at the University of Houston, Conrad N. Hilton College. Think Tanks serve as an opportunity for the students of the Hilton College to learn from the expertise of industry professionals as they share real life stories, highlight their businesses, and enlighten the minds of aspiring industry leaders. These Think Tanks allow for the faces of hospitality of present and future to convene to discuss a wide range of industry topics.
Traditionally, each Think Tank is made up of one moderator who facilitates a panel of three to five industry professionals. This year, the panelists will be developing and focusing on the key topic of East to West trends of hospitality industry, including the past and future influences of East to West tourism and culture, Q&A session by the students and so on.
During the Think Tank session, in front of nearly 70 students majored in Hospitality, Ms. Joanna Xie has introduced her intensive and international-cultured background of working in the hotel industry for 8 years, working in the different foreign Consulates for 7 years and thus, shared her opinions of US travel, tourism trends in relation to Asian countries, impacts of foreign investment, foreign immigration policy and social networks. Both Ms. Yunan Yang and Mr. Thomas Nguyen explained how restaurants in the US are different/similar to restaurants in Asia. Ms. Yunan Yang has introduced her interesting background story of graduating with a Doctorate degree but owning almost 6 Chinese cuisine restaurants in Houston nowadays. Mr. Thomas Nguyen has introduced himself as a Vietnamese ethnic but currently owning 5 South African restaurants in Houston area.
The Think Tank session was originally planned for 60 minutes but officially adjourned after 90 minutes discussion. All the hospitality students were very impressed by all 3 panelists and felt honored to be present. Ms. Joanna Xie told us that “I received a text message from one of the volunteer students, Ms. Ziyu at 6:20pm that evening and was told by her some students were still in the after-meeting discussion till now, because the session was very much informative. They are very impressed and so motivated by the panelists.”
美国飞龙传媒 小珑 编辑报道
