Tourism Hall of Fame announces newest inductees

Denver’s second largest industry will honor some of its top leaders at the Denver & Colorado Tourism Industry Hall of Fame dinner on March 18, at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

The 16th Annual Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame inductees are: hotelier and philanthropist, Navin Dimond; the CEO of Larimer Associates, Jeff Hermanson and tournament and executive director of the Colorado Crossroads Volleyball Tournament, Kay Rogness. A special posthumous award will be presented in honor of cable pioneer, businessman and founder of the Daniels Fund, Bill Daniels.

The Tourism Hall of Fame serves as the highest award for Denver’s travel industry, which registered its best year ever in 2013 with 14 million overnight visitors, generating more than $4 billion in spending.  The industry supports 50,000 jobs in the metro area.

The gala is a fund-raising event for the Visit Denver Foundation, which has given out more than $655,000 in scholarships to 251 Colorado students pursuing higher education in the fields of tourism and hospitality.

For ticket information, contact Lindsey Riddle, lriddle@visitdenver.com or 303-571-9405.

2015 Inductees:

Navin Dimond, President & Chief Executive Officer

Stonebridge Companies

Navin Dimond is the founder of Stonebridge Companies, one of the nation’s leading hotel development and management companies, and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the company’s development, operations and investment functions. In June 2014, Navin and his wife Rita donated $1.5 million to Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver, the largest contribution MSU has ever received. A significant portion of the gift will create the Dimond Fellowship Program, funding 10 student-fellows each year who are preparing for careers in the hospitality industry. In return for the gift, MSU named their hotel management program after the Dimonds. The Rita and Navin Dimond Hotel Management Program at MSU Denver’s Hospitality Learning Center is the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain West. It includes a 150-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel; a 28,000-square-foot hospitality learning center and a 5,000-square-foot conference center. MSU president Stephen Jordan said, “I can’t think of a better role model in the hospitality industry than Navin Dimond; his values and his legacy are among the most respected in the hospitality industry.”

In addition to this wonderful gift, Navin Dimond has a long history of adding to Denver’s hotel inventory, capped by the opening in the summer of 2014 of the Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center, a 230-room hotel built in the lovingly preserved 1915 Colorado National Bank Building. The project not only saved the building, but also preserved 16 murals from the iconic western muralist Allen Tupper True.  The hotel showcases historic elements from the building’s original construction in the early 20th century, juxtaposed with the accommodations, amenities and comforts of a modern luxury hotel. For these contributions, Navin Dimond is inducted into the Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame.

Jeff Hermanson, Chief Executive Officer

Larimer Associates

For his long history of supporting historic preservation mixed with a re-energizing of Denver’s retail, restaurant and entertainment scene, Jeff Hermanson, chief executive officer of Larimer Associates is inducted into the Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame.

Jeff founded Larimer Associates in 1987 and in 1993, Jeff purchased Larimer Square, the firm’s most high-profile property. The 220,000-square-foot office and retail property is a full city-block of downtown Denver and encompasses the largest assemblage of National Historic Registered buildings in Colorado. With Jeff’s leadership,  the property has been re-positioned over the past 15 years to include one of the best collections of independently-owned fashion boutiques and chef-owned and operated restaurants in the state, perhaps the country, and consistently ranks as one of Denver’s top attractions for both visitors and Denver residents.

Additionally, Jeff has partnered with a number of Denver’s notable chefs and restaurateurs to create some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Euclid Hall, Corridor 44 and TAG. Recently, Jeff opened a number of award-winning neighborhood restaurants in Denver, including Billy’s Inn, LoHi SteakBar, Ernie’s Bar & Pizza, and the Lowry Beer Garden. And most recently, Jeff was a principal partner in the restoration of Denver Union Station. Larimer Square and Denver Union Station are two of Denver’s most iconic attractions.

Jeff’s philanthropic and social responsibility efforts are principally focused on hunger awareness and land conservation. He was recently named to the Board of Directors for We Don’t Waste, and Jeff has been a board member and served as the President of the Crested Butte Land Trust in addition to serving on the board of the Downtown Denver Partnership. Hermanson is also the founder of the Crested Butte Wine and Food Festival which benefits the Crested Butte Center for the Arts.

Jeff moved to Crested Butte, Colorado in 1973 to spend the winter as a ski bum but never left, as he continues to split his time between his homes there and in Denver.

Kay Rogness, Tournament Director and Executive Director,

Colorado Crossroads

The Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier is America’s third largest indoor volleyball tournament with 1,285 girls’ volleyball teams playing annually over two weekends in late February or early March, a traditionally slow time for hotels and restaurants. The event has been coming to downtown Denver since 1996, bringing as many as 45,000 people each time, creating an economic impact as high as $25 million per tournament. Hotels are sold out, restaurants have to put on extra staff to deal with volumes higher than experienced during the Democratic National Convention, and shops from the 16th Street Mall to Cherry Creek are swamped with thousands of young shoppers.

Since 1996, Kay Rogness has been the tournament executive director and driving force behind this event.  Because the teams come from all over the country (30 different states were represented in 2014), this is the first time many of the players and accompanying coaches, family and friends have been to Denver. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of young girls playing in the tournament in Denver have developed a love for the city, returning over and over again as tourists and tournament participants. Considering the immediate economic benefit, the longevity of the event, and the residual tourism it has generated for decades, this is one of the largest and most economically significant conventions that Denver hosts. As a sign of the success and importance of the event, Kay recently told the Denver Business Journal, “We no longer have to go to hotels and restaurants ahead of time and say ‘Hey, you might want to gear up because there are going to be a lot of people in town,” she said. “The recognition of the fact that Crossroads is coming spurs people to get in touch with us… It used to be us going around knocking on doors, and now we’re getting them knocking on our door.”

Bill Daniels (1920-2000), Posthumous Award

Bill Daniels was a born entrepreneur and is widely considered one of the great business visionaries of the twentieth century. His brilliance in business was matched by his sincere compassion for people and his desire to help those in need. Born in Greeley, Colorado in 1920, Bill proved himself a fine naval officer and fearless combat pilot in World War II.  He was awarded the Bronze Star for “heroism, courage, and devotion to duty” making repeated trips to rescue wounded shipmates after a devastating enemy attack on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid. Bill also served during the Korean Conflict, was instrumental in pilot training for the U.S. Navy during the transition to jet aircraft, and retired a decorated Commander.

Bill began his business career by opening an insurance agency in Casper, Wyoming. On a drive home after visiting family in New Mexico, Bill stopped for lunch in Denver. A boxing match flickered on a small black and white screen behind the bar. It was Bill’s first encounter with television, and he was captivated. He learned that many small towns – including Casper – did not have access to TV. As a result, Bill started building Casper’s first cable system in 1952.

As one of the earliest pioneers in cable TV, Bill owned and operated hundreds of systems across the country. The firm he founded, Daniels & Associates, operated these properties and brokered many of the deals that shaped the industry. Bill’s leadership attracted many technology and communications companies to the area, making Denver the recognized “cable capital of the world.”

An avid sports fan, Bill was one of the first in his industry to focus on generating sports programming, clearing the way for today’s regional sports networks.  He sponsored a number of professional boxers, served as president of the American Basketball Association, was a founder of the United States Football League, and was an owner of professional sports teams, including the Utah Stars and the Los Angeles Lakers.  He played a significant behind-the-scenes role in bringing teams and stadiums to Denver.

During the course of his life, the respect Bill earned for his achievements in business was matched by the admiration generated by his philanthropy. With his plane, he set a new round-the-world speed record for business jets while raising $300,000 for education. He opened his home, Cableland, to fundraising events for nonprofits dozens of times per year, and donated the house to the City of Denver as the official mayoral residence.

Bill provided significant support to innovative education efforts. He collaborated with the University of Denver to incorporate ethics, values, and personal integrity into the business school curriculum.  In 1994, the school was renamed Daniels College of Business in Bill’s honor.

Bill spent his final years planning the Daniels Fund, and providing the specific direction that guides its operation. When he passed away in 2000, Bill’s estate transferred to the Daniels Fund, forming its base of assets and making it one of the largest private foundations in the Rocky Mountain region.

The Daniels Fund continues Bill Daniels’ legacy of compassion and generosity by providing grants to outstanding nonprofit organizations, and scholarships to deserving students, in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.