Marsha Gordon has the annual task of making congratulatory phone calls to five inductees to the Westchester County Business Hall of Fame.
Although reactions vary, screaming doesn”™t usually ensue.
But it did this year when Robert Sanders Jr. got the call that his company, White Plains-based Hospitality Resource Group Inc. (HRG), won the 2009 Business Hall of Fame award for entrepreneurial success.
Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester, held the phone at arm”™s length as HRG”™s three partners expressed their excitement ”“ loudly ”“ and popped a bottle of champagne.
“That was one of the best reactions we”™ve had,” said Patricia Nicolais, director of membership and special events at The Business Council of Westchester. “Most people are very excited, but no group screaming.”
Sanders founded HRG as an event planning company in 1997 from an office in his Mahopac garage. Since then, the company has grown and split into four divisions including event planning (Event Solutions) corporate training (Strategic Training Solutions) marketing, brand management and public relations (Allegis Communications) and event design and décor (iQuest Designs).
“The Entrepreneurial Success Award singles out a business that has shown exceptional innovation and growth over time,” Gordon said. “Hospitality Resource Group has grown sales consistently year-after-year by 30 percent. Starting as a single company back in 1997, HRG has become a market leader by providing innovative services to their clients and staying ahead of the curve. This is the kind of success that other Westchester companies can aspire to.”Â
Prior to creating HRG, Sanders worked in the hospitality industry, first at Marriott Corp. and later at Abigail Kirsch Culinary Productions. As HRG grew, Sanders brought partners Michael Lattari, chief operating officer, and Laura McNerney, president, on board.
Sanders and Lattari worked together long before they became business partners ”“ in college, they were both on the staff at a Pleasantville restaurant.
“We”™ve created a very interesting company where we”™ve got a few brands that really work well together,” Lattari said. “We do events all the time where people are being honored, and this time it”™s our turn so it”™s kind of nice. We do a very good job of coming to work and enjoying ourselves. I think as a whole the three owners here are probably as happy at work as we are at home.”
Although HRG is one company, each of its 19 employees works to drive revenue to his or her specific division.
“The beauty of this model and the reason it”™s working well today is we have four economic engines working under HRG,” Sanders said. “For example, one of the first things that gets cut in tough economic times is corporate training and development, especially in the hospitality industry. Right now, our training division is off about 12 percent, but the event division is up 16 percent ”“ so from a company standpoint, we”™re still up 4 percent.”
In addition to the White Plains headquarters, HRG has offices in Manhattan and Connecticut. Sanders plans to open an office in Florida this summer and eventually hopes to have a West Coast presence, as well, so that HRG will be well-positioned once the economy begins to recover.
“Right now as companies are going through difficult times one of the things we are trying to encourage our clients to do is to just stay positive, focused and productive because you have to be poised to jump when things start to get better,” McNerney said.
Sanders is active in community affairs, including service with the American Red Cross, the Westchester County Association and Junior Achievement. He works with a nonprofit organization, Bridges to Community, leading trips of business executives to Nicaragua to build homes for families in need.
“HRG is very involved in the Westchester community and we do a lot of volunteerism as a company,” said Sanders, who is currently in the process of opening up the HRG Foundation. “That is my ultimate goal down the line when I retire from my role as CEO; I want to run the foundation. My mission is twofold: children and education. I really want to make a difference; I don”™t just want to write a check. I want to deliver 10 laptops to New Rochelle Middle School or whatever it might be.”
