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Hilton gives ProjectSEARCH a hand

By Patrick O’Malley

Staff writer county@gallupindependent.com Twitter:@PKOmaly
GALLUP — The Hilton Garden Inn has signed on as the first host business for the Gallup division of ProjectSEARCH, a yearlong internship for graduating high school students with mental disabilities.

Early in the summer, local ProjectSEARCH director Eulalia Gonzalez was reaching out to businesses in the area that would be open to the internship program. At the time she said that they weren’t “getting a great response;” however, after presenting the idea to the management at Hilton, they were on board.

Representatives from the project, along with Gallup McKinley County School District administrators, gave an overview for parents at the Hilton Tuesday. They answered questions about transportation, eligibility and the daily life of the internship. For the first few months transportation is provided for the students. After this they either train one of the students to run a carpool, or they teach them how to use public transportation. The purpose of this is so that if they are hired, they will know how to use regular transportation.

The goal is to essentially teach the students how to become full-time, paid employees who can work as well or better than any other citizen. For the first year of the project, only students who are ages 18 to 21 are eligible; however, Gonzalez said that they are likely to widen the age range with future internships.

Initially the local ProjectSEARCH reps were having a hard time finding a business that was large enough to accommodate the internship. The host business must have at least 200 employees with multiple jobs that students can complete for and eventually develop careers in. During the first year, 10 interns go through three different training stages with a focus on different jobs. Founder Erin Riehle, who was at the meeting, said that the students have absolute liberty to ultimately decide which job they would like to do.

“We’re not going to make them do something they hate; it depends on what they want to be,” said Riehle. The project has hundreds of different sites all around the globe, with a 73 percent employment rate after the internship.

According to Riehle, the state of New Mexico had a grant opportunity for anyone who wanted to start a second site, but she was nervous that notice was given too late.

“I have to say Lali pulled it together — her team came down to Albuquerque, we were nervous trying to pull together something really hard in a short amount of time,” said Riehle. “It’s all due to Lali’s leadership, and the fact that she pulled a great team together.”

ProjectSEARCH started at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996, where Riehle worked as a nurse and director of the emergency department. Riehle wanted to find a way to not only train people with disabilities to join the workforce, but by doing so train the community on how to accept people with disabilities as equal employees. Gallup is the second location in New Mexico, with the first being the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Gonzalez said that the Hilton’s general manager was excited to have the group work with them, and they were looking at adopting the program in more hotels.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Eulalia Gonzales, lead coordinator for Services for Exceptional Students, leads a conference on ProjectSEARCH at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Gallup Tuesday.

Two Marriott properties, located at the Albuquerque Sunport, were added to the Total Management Systems Inc portfolio.  Total Management Systems is pleased that the Fairfield Inn and Suites (118 rooms) and Towneplace Suites (107 rooms) have joined their group of hotels. These are the first hotels from the Marriott brand for the company.  Both hotels are convenient to the International Sunport Airport, University of New Mexico, Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Labs, the UNM Pit, Isotopes Baseball, Isleta Pavillion, and located minutes away from Nob Hill which offers convenient shopping and renowned restaurants.

50 ACTS OF KINDNESS!!! Home2 Suites by Hilton Albuquerque invites you to participate in its first ever 50 Acts of Kindness Event and Donation Drive. This means that May 12, 2015- May 21, 2015 as an extension of our brand-wide Your2 Hands™ program, Home2 Suites will be working with their local charity partner (Child Life Program UNM Children’s Hospital @http://hospitals.unm.edu/children/childlife/index.shtml) to help make a difference in ways that reach far outside our hotel walls. ~Help us make a difference in a child’s life~ Date: May 12, 2015-May 21, 2015 Time: 9am-5pm Location: Home2 Suites 1660 University Blvd NE 87120 ~PLEASE BRING DONATIONS TO HOTEL~ Event Details: Donation drive for the following items: Color books Art paper Color crayons Stencils Color pencils Art supplies Color markers Cash donations (made to Child Life Program) We appreciate you help!

Home2 Suites by Hilton Albuquerque 1660 University Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87102 today announced UNM Children’s Hospital Child Life Program 2211 Lomas Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87106 as its new “Charity of the Year” partner 2015 – 2016. To kick-start the relationship Home2 Suites employees will begin training this month. Home2 Suites will participate in fundraising activities, volunteering at the center, and help to bring awareness to the community for an entire year!

How does the “Child Life Program” help children and their families?

• Child Life provides age-appropriate play and other activities that encourage mastery, coping and expression of feelings
• Increases familiarity with hospital surroundings and prepares children and families for medical experiences
• Bridges the gap between home and hospital by providing family activities (such as play, school, birthday, and holiday observations)

The charity partnership will see the funds raised by Home2 Suites employees, customers, and supporters over the next year, used specifically to help with the centers need for volunteers, art supplies, toys, clothing, educational items, including books, DVD’s and games, food, and fundraising needs. The Child Life Program will be presented with our Home2 Suites certificate of commitment during Home2 Suites grand opening in June of 2015.

Brandon Wellbrock the General Manager, and Roxanne Schumaker the Director of Sales for the Home2 Suites had this to say:

“We would like to thank Julia Grimes the Director for UNM Children’s Hospital Child Life Program for allowing us to be of service to such a great program, and look forward to the beginning of a great partnership.”

Julia Grimes had to say:

The Child Life Program at UNM Children’s Hospital is honored to partner with Home2 Suites employees, customers and supporters and looks forward to this exciting collaboration that will benefit our patients and their families.  Hospitals are scary places for children and the stress of illness makes it difficult for families.  The partnership with Home 2 Suites will help our patients and their families by showing them that people from their community care about them.

http://krqe.com/2014/06/23/more-freebies-being-offered-to-tesla/

http://investorplace.com/2014/06/tsla-tesla-3/#.U7IoU_1Ont5

Prakash Sundaram, our President and CEO, speaking to local news crews about the community support of Telsa Giga-Factory in Albuquerque.

Artesia, NM (Grassroots Newswire) March 12, 2014— Hampton  Hotels, Hilton Worldwide’s global brand of more than 1,900 mid-priced Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Hampton by Hilton hotels, today announced the groundbreaking of the 82 room Hampton Inn and Suites.

The property is owned by Permian Hotel I, LLC and will be operated by Total Management Systems, Inc..  Construction, led by Sundaram Builders and Peter Butterfield Architecture is expected to be completed by Summer of 2015.

“We are excited to break ground on this project and look forward to bringing a new lodging option to Artesia,” said Prakash Sundaram , managing member of Permian Hotel I, LLC. “Hampton properties are designed to accommodate both business and leisure travelers. With amenities like complimentary, hot breakfast with fresh-baked waffles, complimentary Wi-Fi and clean and fresh beds, the Hampton Inn and Suites will provide all the services and value-added amenities desired by those traveling to the Artesia area.”

Once opened, the Hampton Inn and Suites , will provide an estimated 30 of new jobs to the Artesia area.

The four-story hotel will be located at 304 North 26^th Street. The hotel will additionally feature Hampton’s Perfect Mix Lobby, designed with a variety of seating and lighting options for both leisure and business travelers as an extension of the guestroom.

Hampton Hotels fosters a unique culture of hospitality – called “Hamptonality.”  This term describes each hotel’s approach to friendly customer service, anticipating guests’ needs and providing travelers with helpful suggestions about area attractions, historical facts and fun things do around town. Additionally, hotels are infused with local photography and art work, highlighting each property’s connection to its own community.

Read more about Hampton Hotels at www.hampton.com and www.news.hampton.com.

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About Hampton Hotels
The Hampton Hotels brand, including Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Hampton by Hilton, is Hilton Worldwide’s award-winning leader in the mid-priced hotel segment, serving value-conscious and quality-driven travelers.  With over 1,900 properties totaling more than 188,000 rooms in 14 countries and territories, Hampton Hotels is part of Hilton Worldwide, a leading global hospitality company.  All Hampton hotels offer comfortable surroundings and a friendly service culture, defined as “Hamptonality,” delivered by over 50,000 Team Members and supported by the 100% Hampton Guarantee®, reinforcing its commitment to providing excellent service to both business and leisure travelers alike.  High-quality and consistent accommodations and amenities, such as free Wi-Fi and free hot breakfast, and the latest technology and innovations, such as multi-unit Power Cubes and the brand’s signature Clean and Fresh Hampton Bed®, combined with numerous locations globally have made Hampton a leader in its segment and one of the fastest growing hotel brands worldwide.  Please visit www.hampton.com, http://news.hampton.com or www.hamptonoffers.com for more information and connect with Hampton Hotels online at www.faceboook.com/Hampton, http://twitter.com/Hampton or www.youtube.com/Hampton.

About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels. For 94 years, Hilton Worldwide has been dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences. The company’s portfolio of ten world-class global brands is comprised of more than 4,000 managed, franchised, owned and leased hotels and timeshare properties, with nearly 672,000 rooms in 90 countries and territories, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages an award-winning customer loyalty program, Hilton HHonors®

Hilton Garden Inn began construction this month.

Gallup, NM October 23, 2013

A new Hilton Garden Inn broke ground in Gallup, NM earlier this month in Gallup’s expanding north corridor. The four-story hotel, which will use only New Mexico subcontractors, is expected to open in 2014. The hotel is being built by Sundaram Builders and will be managed by Total Management Systems. The company has been in involved with numerous franchised hotels in the past in New Mexico, Texas, and in Colorado. They also have worked with various brands such as Best Western, Hilton, Super 8, Choice Hotels, and Intercontinental Hotels.

This company has owned and operated several franchised properties in Gallup for the last 35 years. T.M. (Tom) Sundaram, Chairman of the Board and Founder, started business in Gallup in 1978 and built several hotels and houses in the Gallup area.   His children, Prakash Sundaram, President, and Malini Perumal, Vice President, were brought up in Gallup, lived there for over thirty years and are graduates of Gallup High School. Now located in Albuquerque, the family is continuing their father’s legacy by developing this unique hotel facility in their hometown of Gallup.

When asked about why Gallup was chosen to build this hotel, Prakash Sundaram stated, “Our company started in Gallup, and Gallup has always been a great place to do business, and a strong hotel market. Recent economic developments have made us bullish on the future of Gallup.” We also asked Sundaram how this hotel is going to be different than other hotels in the area and Sundaram said “It has been about 40 years since this caliber of hotel has been built in Gallup. The hotel will be the finest hotel facility in a 100 mile radius, offering up to date meeting facilities.” We also were able to ask how this hotel will help Gallup and Sundaram stated, “Our hotel will have first class meeting facilities that will attract meetings and businesses back to Gallup, in addition to creating approximately 20 jobs for the City of Gallup,”

The Hilton Garden Inn will feature 105 rooms and 3,000 square feet of meeting space. This upscale, yet affordable brand will cater to Gallup’s expanding corporate market as well as leisure guests who visit Gallup via Interstate 40. It will also feature a lounge with a wide selection of New Mexico beer and wines, a restaurant on site, and a display area for local artisans to showcase their work.  In addition, it will also have a boardroom, fully wired for video conferencing, which will be made available to non-profit organizations.

The Hilton Garden Inn brand will be the first in Gallup. Hilton Garden Inns consist of 570 properties worldwide and feature Herman Miller Mirra® desk chairs, the Garden Sleep System® bed, and Fitness Centers featuring Precor® training equipment. Hilton Garden Inn has consistently been recognized as the Best Mid-Scale, Full-Service brand in key consumer awards.