The Story
Hotel Ezra Cornell 23 – 1948
Richard W. Brown ‘49, Assistant Manager
More than 50 graduates attended HEC 23, including a number of past managing directors. Saturday’s events included an odd-years versus even-years alumni baseball game which quickly became as strong a rivalry as it did a tradition. Guests found food-for-thought in the opening dinner menu, a replica of a diploma. Howard Dugan, president of the American Hotel Association, was the guest speaker at the banquet, held again in Willard Straight Hall. His remarks encouraged graduates and students to become more involved in their city and state governments, along with their work in the hotel industry.
From: The Best Ever: Memories of Hotel Era Cornell
Dick Brown was a student at Boston University when World War II interrupted his education. He served 3 1/2 years with the United States Army in Italy and North Africa. When he returned home, the GI Bill allowed him to attend Cornell University where he earned a degree in Hotel Administration, graduating in 1949. While at Cornell he met Muriel Welch who was studying in the School of Nutrition. They were married on campus in Sage Chapel in 1947. Dick and Muriel have two sons, Gary and Bruce, who have followed their father with careers in hospitality.
Dick Brown in the 1252 Infantry Company, 1940
Dick (far left) with U.S. Army buddies
Students in the postwar years were older than they had been in the 1930s, and their age and experience led to more discipline in class. Richard W. Brown ‘49 summed up the vets’ attitude this way: “We were not to be slighted. We were going to make it through, and we weren’t going to be looked down upon, academically or otherwise.” Brown was a 24-year-old sophomore in 1946, fresh from a tour of duty in North Africa and Italy. He arrived in Ithaca wearing pieces of his Army uniform because he was too tall for civilian clothes. He struggled through the Hotel program and passed one especially difficult course with the aid of Muriel Welch ’47, a Home Economics student whom he later married. Brown’s career led to the executive offices of Banfi Vintners and a major fund-raising role for the Hotel School in the 1980s and 1990s.
From: Hospitality Leadership
A 50 Year Career in Hospitality
If the hospitality business were ever to conduct a nationwide poll to discover who among its countless thousands has devoted more time, more energy, more ideas, traveled more widely and, yes, helped to raise and channel more funds to advance the industry’s interests, Richard W. Brown would top the list.
Dick’s career in the hospitality industry began during his college days and he was “on the go” well into 2002. He served as a consultant to schools that offered hotel and restaurant-oriented curricula and to the food service programs of the nation’s armed forces. A wine buff, he also enjoyed exposing people – “the more, the merrier” – to the charming nuances of his favorite product at organized tastings.
Following early career stints in hotel and food service management in Alabama, New Jersey and upstate New York, he held a number of industry-related posts, including treasurer of the New Jersey State Restaurant Association and co-founder of the Rochester branch of the New York State Restaurant Association.
A high point of his trade association work was his role in the National Restaurant Association as executive vice president and secretary from 1968 to 1972.
During Dick’s four-year tenure at the NRA, his accomplishments included:
- Founding the National Institute for the Foodservice Industry (NIFI), which subsequently became the trade group’s Educational Foundation.
- Returning the NRA’s annual convention (the largest hospitality convention in the Western Hemisphere) to Chicago’s famed McCormick Place.
- Expanding the NRA’s exhibitors list by encouraging participation, for the first time ever, of leading wine and spirits suppliers.
- Working closely with various government agencies, such as the Census Bureau, Labor, Agriculture and Treasury, to analyze the makeup of the food service industry, a study that produced hard facts on the industry’s overall annual impact on the American Economy, its tax contributions, federal, state and local, and its current staffing and future requirements.
- Expanding NRA’s lobbying services in Washington, D.C., which then successfully campaigned to allow the private sector of the food service industry to bid on military catering and the nation’s school lunch program.
President Richard M. Nixon greets various association executives at the White House to acknowledge all that associations do for big business. Richard W. Brown, Executive Vice President of the National Restaurant Association, is greeted by the President with Jim Lowe, President of the American Society of Association Executives looking on. Dick would later say, “It was so good for him to stop by that day!”
After his NRA period, Mr. Brown spent six years as director of corporate marketing to two major producers and importers of wines and spirits, Schenley Affiliated Brands Corp., and The American Distilling Company.
Early in 1979, Dick joined Banfi Vintners, America’s leading wine importer and a major producer of world-class offerings in Tuscany and Piedmont, Italy. Among Dick’s many accomplishments during his tenure at Banfi were:
- serving as vice president and assistant to the chairman.
- combining his restaurant industry experience and Cornell connections to open doors across the entire hospitality industry for Banfi.
- developing a National Accounts Division focused on building and maintaining relationships with national chains on-premise accounts (restaurants and hotels).
Dick retired 10 years later but continued as a consultant to the firm.
Advancing the Interest of the Food and Wine Trade
On Banfi’s behalf, Brown conferred with the administrations of four schools – Cornell, Johnson & Wales, Culinary Institute of America and University of Nevada-Las Vegas – on the renovation and upgrading of dining and classroom facilities originally built with contributions from the Banfi Foundation. In between such assignments, he found time to serve as vice chairman of the Culinary Institute of America (he was a trustee emeritus); a fellow of the Educational Institute of the American Hotel/Motel Association; past president of the Cornell Society of Hotelmen and the Cornell Alumni Association; and managing director of Cayuga Hospitality Advisors.
In 1991 – and again in 1992 – Dick volunteered as an evaluator of the U.S. Army Connelly Program which required him to study food operations at Army posts in the U.S. (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, Utah), Korea, Germany and Panama. He made two six-week tours traveling with the perks and privileges of a Brigadier General, which he claims wasn’t bad duty for an old World War II buck sergeant. He also performed a similar service for the U.S. Coast Guard. He had been twice honored for his efforts by the U.S. Army, which made him an honorary member of the Quartermaster Corps, and in 1997 at ceremonies held at Fort Lee, VA, enrolled him as “Distinguished Member of the Quartermaster Regiment.”
Service to Cornell
Dick faithfully served his alma mater in a number of leadership roles throughout his career:
- Along with his associate and fellow Cornellian Richard Holtzman ‘41 of Rock Resorts, Dick was instrumental in the success of the 1986 Leadership Campaign for the Cornell Hotel School. Over a two-year period, the effort raised $43 million to build new facilities for the school.
- President of the Cornell Hotel Society
- President of the Cornell Alumni Association
Dick contributed in every possible way to the mission of the Hotel School. He co-chaired the fundraising efforts to renovate Statler Hall in the late 1980s, mentored countless Cornell students and alumni over six decades, and made connections far and wide that have been vital to the School’s outreach. Few individuals have done so much for the School on so many fronts.
~Quote from Dean David W. Butler, The Bulletin, Winter 2004
Paying it Forward
Dick loved to spend time with students and was often found lecturing aspiring hoteliers and restaurateurs attending undergraduate schools around the country. In 1986, the academic world formally inducted him into its ranks: Johnson & Wales University awarded him a doctorate in Business Administration (honoris causa). Sometimes he sought a broader audience and played the role of evangelizer at public wine tastings, winning over the crowd with appreciative smacking lips and breezy, amusing chatter as he led them swirling, sniffing and sipping their way through a selection of Banfi’s Super Tuscans, noble varietals and rare vintages.
I was a freshman at the Hotel School when Dick started working for Banfi in 1979. The man was a legend at the school. He did so much for Cornell. He was on campus all the time. I never met anyone who was better at connecting people or who “knew someone.” He was a master at that.
~Ginny Mariani Kitt ’83, Banfi Vintners
The Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award
The Rhodes Award is Cornell University’s highest recognition of extraordinary service from long-term volunteers. Up to six alumni receive this prestigious award each year. In fall 1966, Dick was among the distinguished alumni recognized by the University for their outstanding service to Cornell:
- Esther Schiff Bondareff ’37
- Richard W. Brown ’49
- Fred J. Eydt ’52
- Eli Manchester ’52, B.ME. ’53
- Ernest L. Stern ’56
- Margaret Gaffney Graf, J.D.’73
Industry Awards and Honors
Dick’s significant contributions to hospitality education and the food and beverage industries earned him numerous honors and awards. Among them:
- Named “Hotelier of the Year” in 1987 by the New York Chapter of the Cornell Society of Hotelmen
- The prestigious “Industry Recognition Award” by the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE)
- American Express Travel & Leisure Award
Celebrating a Legend
Cornell Hotel Society Honors Distinguished Alumnus Richard W. Brown ’49
In 2008, the alumni association of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration endowed a tiered case study room in honor of Dick Brown. The Richard W. Brown ‘49 Cornell Hotel Society Amphitheatre is a 60-seat state-of-the art space in the Beck Center, an expansion of Statler Hall, named for former Dean Robert Beck and his wife, Jan. The 36,000 square foot space contains classrooms, breakout and interview rooms for continuing education programs, an expanded computer laboratory and public spaces.
Sons Bruce and Gary Brown admire the tribute in honor of their father
in The Richard W. Brown ‘49 Cornell Hotel Society Amphitheatre
Former deans Jack Clark and Michael Johnson, Muriel, Bruce and Gary Brown
at the dedication ceremony for The Richard W. Brown ‘49 Cornell Hotel Society Amphitheatre.
Cornellians Muriel and Dick Brown
From son Bruce Brown:
Some Great “Sayings” from Dad!
#1- What does it cost to be nice to someone?
#2- Isn’t your mother so beautiful?
#3- Dad loved the Army! It sent him to Cornell on the GI Bill where he met Mom and they were married in Sage Chapel! Dad said to me- “The only problem with the Army son is- you can’t get a good cup of coffee!!
#4- The plaque in his office- Greek saying? “Don’t let the Bastards get you down!”
#5- “Love All Around!” A toast given by Dad at all holidays and family gatherings!
From son Gary Brown:
When Dad was running the Chicago based National Restaurant Association, he had a Washington DC based lobbyist who was a retired Admiral. At that time, the NRA was running seminars across the country called “Issues and Answers” to discuss key issues impacting the restaurant industry. The seminars were typically moderated by a celebrity or a recognized sports figure. Dad was thrilled to secure Jackie Robinson for this role, the man who integrated race into major league baseball. He was excited to present Jackie to the lobbyist who bristled at the thought as he was very prejudiced. He told Dad, “Dick how can we have a black man head this up, I mean really?” Dad asked the Admiral what he was doing for lunch the next day, whereupon he booked a flight to Washington to meet with the Admiral. The Admiral continued to press Dad on his selection of Jackie Robinson. Dad said, “Admiral, black people and other minorities will not only be our restaurant customers but owners and operators of restaurants across the country. Admiral you’re fired!”
Dad returned to our home in Chicago later in the week. One night before dinner I poured him a scotch, and we chatted about his trip to Washington. He said to me, “Son, in the Army I made to a buck sergeant but this week I fired an Admiral!
Dad believed in equal rights for all people regardless of race, creed, or color!
From his Banfi colleague and trusted friend Patsy Wright:
Dick Brown was undoubtedly the most well-connected person I’ve ever known.
When I embarked on my first job in the wine industry with Banfi as the sales manager for the fine wine portfolio known as Vinum, Manhattan was my territory. I faced an uphill battle in a particularly challenging market, especially as a newcomer. Navigating my way to the right contacts was no small feat—until I crossed paths with Dick.
Dick’s unwavering dedication and his ability to engage people, combined with his genuinely kind nature and trademark optimism, made him not just a mentor, but a pivotal figure in my career. He graciously took me under his wing, shared his Rolodex, and opened doors to countless buyers, enabling me to rapidly expand my network.
Dick also imparted invaluable lessons on how to “work the room.” He had a unique talent for making connections. I fondly recall a trip to Arizona for a conference. Walking into the opening reception, he turned to me and said, “Patsy, you take the right side, and I’ll handle the left!” That was classic Dick Brown—always strategizing to maximize opportunities.
He was a great asset to Banfi, to me, and to all the lives he touched.
