NEW YORK—Mark Woodworth,
senior managing director, CBRE Hotels Americas Research, will be honored by Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the course of the addiction crisis in the United States, at its third annual Shatterproof Hospitality Heroes Reception at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles in January.
“I am incredibly flattered because Gary [Mendell, Shatterproof founder/CEO] is the one that led the effort,” Woodworth told Hotel Business, “and I have known Gary since our college days; I think very highly of him. Right alongside that, obviously, with the previous winners—Tom Corcoran and Bob Alter—that is pretty heady company to be associated with; that, needless to say, made me feel very good and flattered.”
Woodworth has been an integral part of uniting the leaders of the hospitality industry to come together to raise awareness and shatter the stigma of addiction, according to the organization. The event at ALIS will raise funds to support Shatterproof’s efforts to transform the way addiction is treated in America.
Last year, more than 60 hospitality companies joined together to sponsor the event in support of Shatterproof and Mendell, a former hotelier who was chairman of HEI Hotels & Resorts. He regularly attended the ALIS conference in his 25-year-long career in the hospitality industry.
After losing his son Brian to addiction, he founded Shatterproof to spare others from the tragedy his family suffered. Since Shatterproof’s inception, more than 65 hotel companies and 500 employees have raised in excess of $3 million for the nonprofit.
Studies have shown the hospitality industry is impacted by addiction at two times the rate of other industries, so Shatterproof’s mission is particularly relevant.
Mendell told Hotel Business, “I am deeply humbled to have Mark as our honoree. Mark has supported our work financially, with his time, and with his heart since the day we started. He’s a true friend.”
Woodworth said it is important to give back, especially to a cause involving addiction. “I think we all have opportunities to get involved and do things that are for the greater good, not just all about business,” he said. “We do more tomorrow than we do today… As I began to learn more about the magnitude of the problem, along with what Gary and his team have learned, [I found] there are solutions, there are ways to address the issue and help people.”
Woodworth heaped praise on Mendell for the work he has done. “The overarching thing that made me want to contribute my time and help was the fact that Gary has done just a terrific job in building an organization of extremely high-quality caliber people in a very thoughtful way,” he explained. “Just looking at the progress that the Shatterproof organization has already been able to make in a relatively short period of time is incredibly impressive. I think that good deeds and good work tend to generate and get the involvement of good people. Gary has demonstrated consistently that he has been able to really do that from the get-go, and I am just lucky I happened to be in the right place at the right time with the growth of Shatterproof to try to be able to help.” HB