The Ceremony
The Story
Richard E. Holtzman arrived at Cornell in the fall of 1937 from Millersburg, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Harrisburg, Pa. He was raised by his mother as his father died unexpectedly at the height of the depression, when Richard was very young. His childhood hero was aviator Charles Lindberg, and he had an early fascination with flying. Having the opportunity to attend Cornell University was a dream answered and he fully engaged for his entire time on campus. He was an athlete, served on the Student Council, and enjoyed the Hotel School experience fully, including serving as Managing Director of Hotel Ezra Cornell his senior year.
In his senior year, Richard was also manager of the Cornell varsity basketball team. In March of 1941, Richard traveled to Cuba with the team for a game organized with the Cuban national team. He also had the extraordinary opportunity to meet with Cuba’s Prime Minister Zayas. Below is Cornell President Edmund Day’s letter of introduction paving the way for Richard’s meetings as an ambassador for HEC.
Holtzman as young commander of a B-29 Bomber in the Army Air Corps
Following graduation from Cornell, Richard joined the U.S. Armed Forces and soon was a flight instructor for B-29 Bombers in San Angelo, Texas. There, he met his future wife, Janet Akin, and they married three weeks later. With the Pearl Harbor attacks, The United States declared war, and Richard prepared for active duty in the Army Air Corp, commanding a B-29 bomber in the Pacific theatre. Service to his country was something Richard was enormously proud of but spoke little about.
At the conclusion of the war, Richard returned home reuniting with his wife Janet. He began his hotel career with Pick Hotels, spending the next nine years growing within the organization in Scranton, Pa., South Bend, In., and Chicago, Il. In 1954 Truman Wright ’31 recognized Richard as a rising star in the industry and invited him to join him at The Greenbrier in West Virginia as Resort Manager. The years spent at the iconic Greenbrier would serve Richard well for a dynamic career of resort development and management.
Arriving by ship in Honolulu on the Lurline – 1959
In 1959, the year Hawaii achieved statehood, Richard and Janet moved with their three children, Sandy, Cindy and Dick to Honolulu, Hawaii where he served as President, Sheraton Hawaii. These hotels, including the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Moana Surfrider, and the Princess Kaiulani, were the crown jewels of Waikiki. Holtzman soon expanded the Sheraton brand to the neighbor islands opening The Sheraton Maui and Sheraton Kauai during these “golden years” of Hawaii’s evolution to become a global destination.
Holtzman with his great friend,
Duke Kahanamoku, Olympic swimming champion, surfing legend, and recognized as the Ambassador of Aloha for Hawaii.
Opening the Sheraton Maui with Sheraton’s founder, Ernest Henderson, as part of the neighbor island expansion. The story of the name Sheraton was when Henderson and his partner purchased a hotel, they couldn’t afford to remove the Sheraton sign for a furniture brand on top of the roof, so they named their hotel, Sheraton.
Richard and Janet Holtzman greeting President Lyndon Johnson at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Holtzman with Lawrence Rockefeller (second from left), evaluating expansion plans for the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.
Rockresorts
In 1966, Holtzman made the difficult decision to leave Hawaii, joining Lawrence Rockefeller in creating Rockresorts and serving as its founding president. Now headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York, Hawaii remained influential in Holtzman’s life with the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, and later Kapalua Bay Hotel, The Lodge at Koele, and The Manele Bay Hotel, all joining the other Rockresort properties that made up the most prestigious and influential resort brand in the industry. Other Rockresort properties included Little Dix Bay and Caneel Bay Plantation in the Caribbean, The Boulders in Arizona, The Woodstock Inn in Vermont, and Jenny Lake Lodge in Wyoming.
The Holtzman family, settled into suburban Connecticut living – 1971
Rockresorts represented the gold standard for luxury destination resorts. Holtzman leveraged that position and his influence for the benefit of both the hospitality industry and Cornell. He served as Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association in 1976 and Chairman of the Resort Committee of the AHLA in 1981.
Cornell Hotel School Capital Campaign
Chairman of the campaign to expand the school and its facilities. Richard Holtzman ’41, left, and a key contributor, John Mariani ’54, chairman of Banfi Vintners, in 1986.
Always committed to Cornell and The Hotel School, Holtzman served as president of the Cornell Society of Hotelmen from 1963-1966 and importantly as chairman of the Cornell Hotel School Capital Campaign in the 1980s. This extraordinarily innovative and successful capital campaign was responsible for the extensive redevelopment of both Statler Hall and Statler Inn. Its success reflected Richard’s commitment to Cornell and his appreciation for the positive impact Cornell had on his life.
The Cornell Campaign of the mid-1980’s targeted key parties (corporate and individual) of significant means and commitment to the Hotel School, resulting in an extraordinarily successful campaign. Holtzman enjoyed a very close relationship with President Frank Rhodes.
One of the things Richard was quietly very proud of was the small but influential role he played in changing the name of our alumni organization from the former and traditional “Cornell Society of Hotelmen” to the current “Cornell Hotel Society” in the late 1980s. His motivation to change the name was inspired by the birth of his first granddaughter, Jennifer, and his recognition that the name of our organization should be more inclusive.
Richard E. Holtzman was an accomplished and widely respected industry leader. Along with his deep love of family and friends, he was a proud patriot and Cornellian. He would be quite honored to be considered for the Hall of Fame of the Cornell Hotel Society.
Sources:
Hospitality Leadership – by Brad Edmonson
Photographs and biography provided by Richard A. Holtzman ‘76
