Contact:
Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Communications Director
850.224.2250 x255
ERay@FRLA.org
(Pensacola, FL) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s (FRLA) Greater Pensacola Chapter today announced the installation of new officers. The installation took place in recently at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pensacola. The 2015 officers are:
| 2015 President | Gus Silivos, Scenic 90 Café/Nancy’s Catering & Events |
| VP of Lodging | Joe McCay, Margaritaville Hotel |
| VP of Restaurants | Dave Knudsen, Beef O’Brady’s |
| Treasurer | Robert Remig, Fisher Brown Insurance |
| Secretary | Becky Jones, Highpointe Hotel Corporation |
“Our Greater Pensacola Chapter hit the ground running. We were thrilled to launch earlier this year and are proud to now have some of the best in the business on our area Board of Directors. We look forward to advocating for the hospitality industry at the local level and are excited to help continue to promote the state’s number one job creator,” said Gus Silivos, owner of Scenic 90 Café and Nancy’s Catering & Events.
In addition to the officers, the Greater Pensacola Chapter also swore in the following Board of Directors:
| Lisa Assante, University of West Florida | Reid Radford, Alsco Linens |
| Steve Sapp, Heartland | Steve Mobley, Johnny Huston’s Grille and Bar |
| Dennis Barnes, Barnes Insurance | Beverly McCay, Holiday Inn Express Hotel |
| Maria Goldberg, Great Southern Restaurants Group | Alt: Drew Hardgrave, Hiles McLeod Insurance |
For more information on the FRLA’s Greater Pensacola Chapter, please contact Regional Director John Bloodworth at jbloodworth@frla.org. You may also visit http://frla.org/chapters/greater-pensacola/.
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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association:
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $82 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy and more than 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.
About 2015 Chapter President, Gus Silivos:
Owner and Chef Gus P. Silivos is a third generation restaurateur. He owns and operates Scenic 90 Cafe and Nancy’s Catering & Events. Following in the footsteps of his step-father and grandfather, Gus began working in the family business at the age of 11. He learned each aspect of the restaurant with hands on experience. His formal education includes graduating with a Business degree from the University of West Florida. From there he pursued his love of the culinary by attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He graduated in May of 1982. After graduation and internship he returned to Pensacola to the family business. Gus is a founding member of the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation. He has served as president and treasurer. He was instrumental in the development of a local culinary and apprenticeship program with Pensacola State College. Gus is actively involved in the Pensacola community. He is a member of Five Flags Rotary and a Paul Harris fellow. He has been a member of the FRLA for more than 40 years.
About 2015 Chapter VP of Lodging, Joe McCay:
Joe began his career in hospitality at the Dunes Hotel on Pensacola Beach after an 18 year career in education as a teacher and football coach. He took the job temporarily while awaiting his teaching transcripts to transfer. He became hooked on hospitality management. He went on to manage the Holiday Inn Pensacola Beach and currently is the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand and Operations Manager of the Margaritaville Beach Hotel, the first hotel and standard bearer of a successful new franchise. The Crowne Plaza has won two IHG Torchbearers and three IHG Quality Excellence Awards over the past five years. Margaritaville was named to the Expedia Select list and the Trip Advisor Hall of Fame after being open only five years. Joe has served as past President of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce. When not running between the 2 hotels Joe enjoys sailing, swimming, kayaking, and traveling, all with his wife, Bev.
About 2015 Chapter VP of Restaurants, Dave Knudsen:
David Knudsen for the past 10 years has been a Franchise Consultant for Family Sports Franchise Company, DBA, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. His area covers 42 locations in nine states, along with locations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Prior to his current role, David was Owner/Operator of Mr. Manatee’s Casual Grille, Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant, and Quietwater Beach Concessions. He also served as Vice President of Panhandle Foods, 18 Rax Restaurants in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana and as Director of Operations for seven Wendy’s in Pensacola and Ft Walton Beach. David has been with the FRLA since 1996, is a past Chapter President and served as Chairman of the FRLA’s Educational Foundation. He served in the United States Marine Corps, attended Harper College and LaSalle University, and has two children: Eric David and Allison.
About 2015 Chapter Treasurer, Robert Remig:
Rob Remig is Vice President, Insurance and Risk Consultant, with Fisher Brown Insurance. His responsibilities include risk analysis, program design, client development and retention. Prior to joining Fisher Brown, Rob held similar positions at Marsh and Aon in Silicon Valley. Rob began his career as an underwriter and reinsurance broker, with Aetna C&S and TPF&C, in New York.Rob holds a Bachelor’s degree with a Major in Insurance and Risk Management, from The Tobin School of Business, St Johns University. Rob lives in Gulf Breeze Florida with his sons. In his free time, Rob tinkers with his classic sports car and plays golf.
About 2015 Chapter Secretary, Becky Jones:
Becky Jones was promoted to the Area Sales Manager for Highpointe Hotel Corporation in 2014, representing the Hampton Inn Pensacola Airport, Homewood Suites Cordova Mall and the Hilton Garden Inn Pensacola Airport. Becky’s previous positions with Highpointe over the past 12 years include Director of Sales at Homewood Suites Cordova Mall, Sales Manager at Hilton Garden Inn Pensacola Airport, and Director of Sales at SpringHill Suites Pensacola Beach. Becky began her hospitality career in 1999 at the Comfort Inn Pensacola Beach, where she worked her way from Front Desk Representative to Sales Manager and then Assistant General Manager. Becky and her husband Charlie both grew up and live in Gulf Breeze, and are the parents of a nine year old daughter named Bella. In her spare time, Becky loves the beach, paddle boarding and spending time with her family.