Lifetime Awards

The Albert E. Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Marketing and the Winthrop W. Grice Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Public Relations awards recognize individuals who have spent a major portion of their careers in the hospitality and travel profession and have contributed to the betterment of the industry in a significant and lasting way, over an extended period of time.

2021 Honorees

Alice Diaz: Winthrop W. Grice Award for Public Relations

Alice Diaz, a native New Yorker with roots in the Dominican Republic, has more than 30 years of experience in travel public relations, representing the best of the best in the industry. During her early years at M. Silver Associates, she helped transform the image of Greater Fort Lauderdale, promoted tourism to Thailand, Costa Rica and Panama, and launched Atlantis, Paradise Island from its visionary inception to the star-studded opening of the Royal Towers.

Over the course of her 19 years at Weber Shandwick, Diaz led the Travel & Lifestyle practice and, along with her team, she executed multiple award-winning campaigns. Highlights of her remarkable career include the monumental Bahamas Weather Conference for The Islands of The Bahamas, the magical Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the U.S. presidential opening of the Pope John Paul II Museum, the introduction of historic flights for Singapore Airlines, the Beyoncé- headlined opening of Revel in Atlantic City, the long-running tourism program for Hilton Head Island, and the 150th anniversary of Harley-Davidson. Diaz also managed global teams and programs, including crisis communications for Royal Caribbean International. The Cannes Lion “Total Eclipse Cruise” for Royal Caribbean was one of many mega hits that she is extremely proud of, along with the 2019 Adrian Best in Show campaign on behalf of Mexico City. Before retiring at the end of 2019, Alice organized relief programs and awareness campaigns for The Bahamas after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian.

Throughout her career, Diaz mentored many rising stars and said she will always find time to lend an ear or help promote the next generation of exceptional travel women and men. Now residing in Florida, Diaz is looking forward to living out all the travel dreams she inspired others to experience.

Clayton Reid: Albert E. Koehl Award for Hospitality Marketing

Clayton Reid has worked with companies all over the world for three decades, including Barbados Tourism, Enterprise Holdings, Marriott International and United Airlines. While helping to lead MMGY Global’s growth across six countries and 13 offices, he has also been heavily involved as an industry advocate. Reid is a sought-after speaker and has been featured by news organizations such as the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, NPR, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has served on boards including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, the Kansas City Zoo, the New York City Hospitality Council, the U.S. Travel Association, Visit KC and the World Alpine Ski Championships. He is a strategic council member of Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) in its global travel advisory practice and has worked with global consultancies such as Bain Capital and McKinsey on critical travel issues.

Reid has been awarded the American Express Steven Harvey Achievement Award and has been selected for the exclusive Arthur Page Society. He is also an advocate for sustainability and social causes in travel, being featured by Skift and Forbes for a global push to make travel a platform for equality and understanding. He currently sits on the board of the Midwest Innocence Project, an organization committed to exonerating the wrongly accused, and has been active with other civic causes including Operation Breakthrough, a support system for children in poverty, and Watts of Love, a global NGO that brings simple lighting solutions to communities without electricity.

Reid has lived on three continents and has worked extensively in a variety of cultures and business environments. He considers travel the most important bridge for building understanding, cultural empathy and economic opportunity.

ALBERT E. KOEHL & WINTHROP W. GRICE SELECTION COMMITTEE: