Videos

In this week’s Leadership Live, Scott Humphrey shares a lesson in leadership from the life of hotel icon Harris Rosen...

“We all need to do what is in the best interest of all of us.”

Harris Rosen has been a key player and innovator in the hotel industry for decades. But he's also a social innovator. Twenty years ago, he began the Tangelo Park Project. Rosen "adopted" a Florida neighborhood struggling with drugs and crime. He set up pre-school centers throughout the neighborhood using residents who were trained and equipped for early childhood education. Every child attends for free. And every child who graduates from high school and is accepted by a college or vocational school has their tuition paid 100%. The results have been dramatic. High school graduation rates, which had been below 50%, have been near 100% for years. And college graduation rates are approaching 80%. Crime is down 65%. So why is no one using this idea elsewhere?

Over 20 years, Harris Rosen, a self-made philanthropist paid for daycare for all parents and paid state college full tuition for every high school gradate in the devastated neighborhood of Tangelo park. The result?

Crime was cut in half, the high school graduation rate went from 25% to almost 100% and property values quadrupled.

Harris Rosen, President & COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, on giving back to the community and working hard to achieve any goal.

Harris Rosen '61 gave the Dean's Distinguished Lecture at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration on October 31, 2014. In this DDLS conversation, Mr. Rosen talks about what leadership is all about, how education levels the playing field, and his experience of getting fired from Disney.

See how businessman and hotelier Harris Rosen is turning around a Central Florida community with an investment in education.

Harris Rosen Honoring HMREC
Harris Rosen was born and raised in a low-income area of lower east side Manhattan. His parents instilled in him at a young age that they don’t have to live in that way and that education would get him there. As a young man, he served in the army for a few years and attended college where he earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Hotel Administration. He purchased his first hotel in 1974, using all of his savings for a down payment on a 256-room Quality Inn. He now owns multiple popular hotels and resorts in the heart of Orlando’s tourism district, including the Rosen Centre, a popular meeting and convention hotel right on International Drive.

As impressive as his work history is, his philanthropic heart is what sets this hotel mogul above the rest. In the early 1990’s, Mr. Rosen had his epiphany, a voice encouraging him to give back for all that he had received in life. In addition to the successful hospitality school he donated to the University of Central Florida, he then decided to start a program in the low-income Tangelo Park area to encourage the value that got him to where he is today: education.

By offering free preschool, parenting classes, and post high school programs including vocational and technical training as well as paying for the students’ college, he has helped the area grow prosperous. Not only has the crime rate in the area dropped by 60%, but the elementary is now a grade-A school and the high school graduation rate is up to near 100%. Harris Rosen also believes that education needs encouragement beyond the walls of a school. His participation in the support of the Holocaust Center of Florida shows just that. “There should be a holocaust facility in every community in the United States. A gentle reminder that horrible things happened and are capable of happening again.” -Harris Rosen

Wild can be described in many ways; on this episode Drew shares a new type of wild, right in the heart of a metropolis! He's joined by Bassmaster Elite Series pro, Chris Lane, at the Shingle Creek Golf Course and Resort, where birdies and bass are on their minds. Drew puts Chris in a prototype of the new Bluesky Boatworks Angler 360, and he quickly sees why this is one of the most talked about new products hitting the market in 2018. Drew also visits with golf instructor Brad Brewer, to demonstrate how equipment changes and a few technique or mechanics changes can really affect an angler's or golfer's performance.

A Digital Alchemy Production
www.godigitalalchemy.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Salvatore Bono, Leslie Menichini, Mary Deatrick, Melissa Lima, Brad Brewer and the entire staff at Shingle Creek Resort and Golf Course, as well as Curt Hill and the team at Power-Pole

GEAR USED:
Kayak: Drew, Jackson Kayak Coosa HD
Chris Lane, Bluesky Boatworks Angler 360
Paddle: Bending Branches Angler Pro
Rod/Reels: 13 Fishing Omen Rods with Concept A, Concept C and Inception reels
Line: Hi-Seas Grand Slam braided line
Lures: Z-MAN Chatterbait, Streakz, River2Sea Lane Changer, Top Notch, Big Mistake
Sunglasses: SMITH Optics Lowdown with Cablz eyewear retainer
Fish Finder: Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro with NOCQUA Power Kit
Anchoring system: Power-Pole Micro Anchor & Anchor Wizard
Kayak Trailer: Tennessee Trailers
Kayak Straps: lockable Kanu Lock straps
PFD: Kokatat Leviathan & Bahia Predator
Kayak Cart: Boonedox Landing Gear
Kayak Fishing Accessories: Yak Attack, RAM Mounts, Line Cutterz
Knife: Buck Knives Flashpoint Knife
Tackle Solutions: Plano & Jackson Kayak JKrate
Clothing: Under Armour
On Kayak Cameras: GoPro Hero 5 Black & Hero 5 Session
Charging Solutions: Goal Zero Venture 30
Fish Grips: Lucid Fishing fish grips
Dry Bag: Seal Line
Cooler: Orion Coolers

Harris Rosen and several general managers for Rosen Hotels speak to the importance of the Rosen culture, philosophy and mission that comprise the Rosen difference.