After 30 + years in the hospitality industry with, Stouffer, Marriott, Renaissance, Hilton, Westin and IHG Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts I have developed expertise is in leadership , customer service and organizational culture .
 I have a wonderful wife of 32 years who has supported me in the ups and downs of my career progression. We have one daughter, Alexandra, who graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Public Health and is about to finish her Master’s Degree.

I am  the Author of Destination Charlotte the book a color photography book about why Charlotte North Carolina is a great place to work live and play. The book was published by Lorimer Press in 2009 and has sold over 8000 copies..

My career has allowed me to meet some very interesting people along the way  including 3 US  Presidents , Ronald Reagan, George Herbert  Bush Senior and George W Bush Junior ,the Rolling Stones ,Willard and Bill Marriott., actor  Robert Goulet and many professional athletes through my career.    

 One of my hobbies is studying American Revolutionary War History. I have ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and I am a member of the SAR - Sons of the American Revolution.  Greenawalt is a German name and my ancestors arrived in America in on Sept 17, 1740 on a ship called The Lydia at Philadelphia Harbor. At that time William Penn was granted charter by the queen of England to establish a British Colony in the new world and many Europeans came to America for religious freedom. My ancestors settled in Lancaster PA in a town named Millersburg and fought in American Revolution in 1777-78 in the Lancaster Count Militia. When the family farm was sold in 1831 my ancestor married into the Mennonite religion and moved to Ashland Ohio and finally settled  in Elkhart County Indiana where I am from. I was not raised in the Mennonite religion but if you go back to my 3rd Great Grandfather they were Elders in the Mennonite church.        

First Impressions are very important in the service industry. If we like it or not it only takes 4 seconds for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time and their judgment of you is finalized within 30 seconds of the interaction they have with you. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your tone of voice, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed. 55 percent of that impression is based off of appearance, 7 percent is based on the words used and 38 percent is based on tone of voice.

The old adages “You only get one chance to make a first impression” is absolutely true. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so the "picture" you first present says much about you to the person you are meeting. Is your appearance and behavior saying the right things to help create the right first impression? Some quick tips for creating a great first impression are …

Always make direct eye contact and smile

Trust is earned by your attitude body language and tone of voice
Be a great listener, never interrupt, seek first to understand, then to be understood
 Whatever your job is dress professionally for and keep a clean cut well-groomed appearance

May favorite quote is from Lee Iacocca, the former CEO of the Chrysler Cooperation

Who said “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way “

 I enjoy helping younger people and managers grow and develop in our industry. I have been inspired throughout my career by helping guests have memorable experiences by touching them with Gracious Hospitality which is the highest form of customer service.
 

Service is a task like here is your drink or here are the extra pillows you ask for. Gracious hospitality actively engages the guest to create a positive feeling, like feeling welcome, feeling valued, feeling appreciated, and feeling cared for etc.. The best hotels and resorts in the world have learned this and actively train each and every associate in the concept of gracious hospitality .The Disney organization is a master in this most important service concept.

I have been blessed to have a 30+ year career in an industry that I love hotel and resort management. I have had the pleasure of working with Stouffer  Marriott, Renaissance, Hilton, Westin and IHG Crowne Plaza hotels all over the United States. I am originally from the Midwest Elkhart Indiana and my family moved to California when I was in High School where I first started to work in the hotel industry for Marriott to make extra money as a student at the University of Southern California. Marriott offered me an opportunity to join their management development program which is where I really began to learn and understand the hospitality industry.

 My hospitality career has allowed me to experience many great locations,   Marriott Hotels in Newport Beach, Marina Del Ray CA, Seattle WA, and Buffalo NY. Stouffer Hotels and Resorts in Cleveland, Dayton OH. And Chicago Il. 

 Renaissance Hotels in St. Petersburg Fla. Nashville TN., Starwood Westin hotels In Philadelphia, Hilton Hotels in Charlotte NC  and IHG Crowne Plazas In Greenville SC.  My most recent position as a Hotel General Manager is in Lancaster PA at a privately owned high occupancy 300 room family leisure resort and conference center.

During my tenure in Nashville TN 1993- 2000 at The Renaissance hotel, I chaired a collective group of 11 hotels the Convention Center and Arena  called the “Nashville Convention Collection “ who actively competed with and sold against the  Opryland Convention Complex for large conventions using 1000 Rooms per night . The Christian Music Association and their nationally broadcast Dove Awards had been held that the Opryland and Grand Ole Opry Complex for many years . The downtown group convinced the Board of directors to move the Convention out of Opryland into the Downtown Nashville location. This allowed me to establish a 5 year contract for the Renaissance Hotel worth $2.5 Million and was the largest sales in the Renaissance brand nationally that year.
 

More recently at the Greenville SC Crowne Plaza Hotel I was brought in as General Manager to oversee a Multimillion dollar compete property renovation. When the renovation started the hotel was ranked #142 out of 146 Crowne Plaza Hotels in the US for overall customer satisfaction. After the renovation and a culture change and extensive guest service training we elevated the hotel to the #1 Crowne Plaza in the US over a two year period. The Hotel was recognized with the IHG Torch Bearer award only given to the Top 10 Crowne Plaza Hotels in the US for overall guest satisfaction and I was honored with the Crowne Plaza Brands “Best of the Best “General Manager of the year award.