Welcome / Bienvenue / Willkommen / Bienvenido / ようこ
Celebrating  27 years of allowing "friends to keep in touch with friends";  the 14th anniversary of the WAA website!

Established 1991 / 1,000 Members / 25 Member Countries

Did you work for Westin, or one of its affilaite companies for a minimum of five years from 1930-1998? If so, you may qualify for membership.

 
Thank you for visiting the WAA website!

From its founding in 1991 the sole purpose of the WAA was to provide means for former Westin associates to stay in touch, i.e. friends keeping in touch with friends. That remains our purpose to this day. 

With the purchase by Starwood in 1998 the company, Westin Hotels & Resorts, founded in 1930, ceased to exist, thus the association focuses on the years that Western Hotels operated as a company, namely 1930-1998.
Until May of 2018 membership was restricted to those who had worked in the corporate, regional sales, and affiliate offices such as Westin Service & Supply. Within hotels it is restricted to General Managers, Executive Assistant Managers and Division Heads.

Then, with the concurrence of the WAA board in March, potential membership was expanded to include those who had worked in any capacity for the company for 5 or more years. The group selected five years as a time period that would allow an associate to learn the history of the company and to understand its culture and values.

Over the years various groups of alums dispersed around the globe have arranged to meet for lunch, dinner or even for a weekend. Events have taken place in Tokyo, Oslo, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Johannesburg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Bellevue (2006) and Las Vegas (2016). In the latter two these were weekend events that drew hundreds of members from around the globe.

We hope that you will enjoy the history, photos, stories and trips down memory lane as you view the website content.

Western Hotels, later Western International Hotels, Westin Hotels, and Westin Hotels & Resorts was an innovative and storied company populated with outstanding people!

Yes, people did make the difference!

Sincerely,
Ray Sylvester
WAA President
Westin 1965-1998
 

Goal $5,000

Join with other Westin alums in support of the project to digitize the collection of FRONT Magazines, making their content available  on line for any interested party. Nothing captures the history of the company and its people better during its 68 year history.


Send your check in the amount of $100 or more, made out to WAA, to: 5130 Chevy Chase Drive Houston, TX 77056 or you can also make that contribution on line by clicking on the "donate" button upper right side of this homepage.

You'll have the satisfaction of contributing to the legacy of our outstanding Company

Members as of March 20, 2019

Jon Ballard
Peter Blyth
Wayne Bodington
Hans Bruland
Eugene Carlson (son of Edward Carlson)
Chuck Chambers
Hanne Dittler
Bill Dougherty
Larry Dustin
David Evan
Jeff Flowers 
Denis Forristal
Victor / Kathryn Gielisse
Christine Gildow
Doug Hales
Bob Hawes
Tom Hosea
Greg Jacobson
Andrew Jones
Walt Ketterling
David King
Nancy Leibrecht
Larry Magnan
George Markantonis
Lou Martinelli
Dan McClaskey
Bruce McNish
Bill Moyer
Russ Nickel
Nancy Peel
Christine Rankin
Jean Spaulding
Tom Stanfield
Philip Stoy
Hart Sugarman
John Swaney
Ray Sylvester
Sherrie Tossell (daughter of Severt Thurston)
Richard Whaley
Robert Wilhelm

Take a look at some of the past Front magazine covers. Jay Aven saved 59 Front magazines and has contributed them to the Westin Collection.
 

Prior to May of 1941 the Western Hotels employee communication publication was WHEM, Western Hotels Employees Magazine. In April of 1941, a company-wide contest was conducted to select a new name for publication. FRONT was the winning entry.

The Hospitality Industry Archives  (HIA) at the University of Houston has over 330 of the combined publications.

The annual message to members indicated the Board's decision to begin a project, in conjunction with the HIA, to digitize these publications. On February 6, 2019 WAA Treasurer, Michael Horrocks, presented a check for $2,500 to HIA Director Dr. Mark Young as a first installment to begin this process.

The outcome will be the ability for any interested party to go on line and  connect to the U . of H. servers to explore the history of the Company.

Click here for a sample FRONT Magazine in digitized format.

Your donation of $100 will help to make this a reality. Send your check to: WAA | 5130 Chevy Chase Drive|  Houston, TX 77056 THANK YOU!

April 2017: Oslo, Norway: Over 30 alums from SAS Scandanavian Hotel Oslo which opened in 1975 met at Posthallen Restaurant Bar and Cafe to celebrate friendships!

1st row.

Tom Fossengen, Anne Wallin Rødven, Ulla Mark Løvstrøm, Hanne Hagen, Kersi Porbunderwalla, Guri Lauritzen, Inken Lundgård, Judith Espeskog, Turid Kvalheim Flinder,

2nd row:

Johan Zinsli (profile), Eivind Dalvang, Sidsel Haavardtun, Lykke Bogen, Nina Kase, Rita Rasmussen, Sølvi (Knotten) Paulgaard, Kirsti Johansen

Last row 3 and 4:

Steinar Hansen, Kristoffer Breivik, Morten Fure, Truls Becker, Therese Klaveness, Liv (Herud) Becker, Karin Schanke, Edgar Valdmanis, Anna Thorud Hammer, Pål Gjelseth, Kirsten Månum Gløersen, Bjørn Solberg (just behind Kirstien), Thorleif Solstad

Consider joining Facebook to connect with the over 410 alums who access the Westin Alumni Facebook page. There is no cost involved, and you post only what you want to share with others.

Read a Biography on Edward E.  Carlson

"In my judgement a lifetime with nothing to show other than the accumulation of wealth will never be as fulfilling as a life with vivid memories of the joys and warmth in the wealth of friends. Everyone can enjoy the wealth of friends".

Recollections of a Lucky Fellow 1989

Western Hotels 1^st Manager Conference
July 18, 1931
Multnomah Hotel
Portland, Oregon
 
Front l to r: Frank Bruce, Harold Dupar, Troy Himmelman, Earl McInnis, S.W. Thurston, Peter Schmidt, Jimmy sells, Frank Dupar
Middle l to r: Harry Butler, Tom Gildersleve, Bud Zimmerman, Clyde Damaski, John Rowe, George Hogendobler, Harry Himmelman, Adolf Schmidt, A.D/ Ballinger
Back l to r: Ray Clark, Don Utley, Joe Hurley, Bill Hudson, Thad Pierce, Dolf Edmiston, Carl Morck

 

Western Hotels, Inc
Western International Hotels
Westin Hotels
Westin Hotels & Resorts

1930-1998

Founders



Peter Schmidt, Sr.
First Company Chairman



S.W. Thurston
First Company President




Harold E. Maltby
First Company Vice President


 
Frank A.  Dupar
First Treasurer

Lynn Himmelman


Gordon Bass

.

Harry Mullikin
 

The Westin Building
Seattle, WA
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Corporate Headquarters
1981 - 1999

 

2pm on Tuesday, June 11, 1912 the pilot made history (Morning Oregonian, 12-June-1912):
Aviation science took another stride toward perfection yesterday afternoon when Silas Christofferson, the youthful Portland bird-man, successfully piloted his biplane from the top of the Multnomah Hotel building to Vancouver, Wash. He flew the eight miles, crossing the Willamette and Columbia rivers, in 12 minutes.
Other aviators have made speedier journeys, but it remained for the unlicensed ex-automobile racer to be the pioneer in trusting his heavier-than-air machine in a start from the midst of the business section of a great city.
A crowd of 50,000, scattered along half a dozen streets, lining roofs of dozens of office buildings, and perched precariously at every available point of vantage, witnessed the splendid start of the daring young aviator.
The crowd roared as the machine gracefully and surely left its board footing and soared forth on its journey to Vancouver.


 

Congratulations to Bill Newman, Gretchen Mathers, Chris Marker, Pater Smith, Harry Mullikin, Gina Tucker, Dwight Call and George Forbes who have been honored over the past three years as inductees to the Washington State University Hospitality and Business Management Hall of Fame!

 

Originally paid by MetLife then transferred to MetLife product, Brighthouse Financial.
If you are not sure if you qualify for a Westin retirement benefit call Brighthouse at 800-638-5433, and ask if you have a Westin Retirement benefit due.  M-F 8am-8pm ET.

MyHR by Marriott

Originally paid by Starwood. In January of 2018 Marriott became the payee through their out-sourced program manager, Alright Solutions. MyHR at 888-884-6947, M-F 9am-8pm ET. Ask for Retirement Benefits