Harvey Chaplin to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at International Hospitality Week 2008

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Oxford Publishing, Inc., host of International Hospitality Week and producer of “The Show” in Las Vegas on February 24-27, 2008, has announced that it will present Harvey R. Chaplin with the Lifetime Achievement Award at its Five Star Awards at the event. International Hospitality Week includes the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show, the Las Vegas Restaurant Show, the International Coffee & Tea Expo and Hotel World. This week-long event provides a platform for buyers and sellers to meet, creating the most comprehensive gathering in the hospitality industry from all segments.

Harvey R. Chaplin is Chairman and CEO of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc (SWS). By 1946, the year he graduated from Brooklyn's Boys High School, he already had begun his career in the wine and spirits industry, having landed a part-time position in the mailroom at Schenley Industries, Inc. whose offices were then located in Manhattan. At that time Schenley was a leading distilled spirits marketer as well as the American importer of Dewar's White Label Scotch.

“I am a very lucky guy,” Chaplin said recently. “With a high school education, I received my ‘college education’ on the streets working for the beverage alcohol industry — including significant work experience in New Orleans, Dallas, Kansas City, New York City, Buffalo and Miami. I have always felt a strong need to give back to the communities that have helped me achieve my success.”  Chaplin will be honored for his contributions to our industry on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at an awards dinner in Las Vegas. 

“It is truly rewarding to salute and honor Mr. Chaplin with this year’s lifetime award,” said Jennifer Robinson, COO of Oxford Publishing. “His contributions and leadership have had a significant impact on the industry and he is most deserving of this award.”

At Schenley, Chaplin worked his way up from the mailroom to become assistant director of marketing at the company. His “graduate school” degree came from his work as a distributor in upstate New York from 1961 to 1968, where he ran wholesale operations in Buffalo, Rochester and Albany. In 1969, Chaplin joined SWS, along with other founding executives. Prior to becoming its chairman and CEO in 1994, Mr. Chaplin served in numerous senior executive roles running day-to-day operations of the company from 1969 to 1993.

In particular, Chaplin is known for his deep concern for the needs of both sets of Southern Wine & Spirits’ “customers” — the suppliers who rely upon Southern’s brand stewardship and distribution reach and the retailers who require efficient service and promotional support.  He says, “My philosophy as the leader of the ‘middle tier’ has been one of close cooperation with both of the other tiers of our industry. We all need one another to foster our industry's progress.”   

Along with his family and company, Chaplin is very supportive of many international, national and local charities. In particular, for many years, he has been closely associated with Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Sylvester Cancer Center, the Nor-Isle Optimist Club and Temple Beth Shalom—all of which are located in South Florida. Over the years, Chaplin also has been a generous contributor to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In the United States, he served as a founding contributor to The Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center, which is an integral part of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida.  The Center, Chaplin wishes to emphasize, is also supported by generous grants from many other wine and spirits supplier partners from the United States and abroad.

Chaplin is the recipient of many business and community awards and honors, including: the Mt. Sinai Medical Center honor he and his wife Roberta shared in March, 2005 at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the hospital; in October 2004, he was named a “South Florida Legend” by South Florida CEO magazine; in 2003, he was honored as “Man of the Year” by the Weizmann Institute of Science; and in 2001, Market Watch magazine named him “Industry Man of the Year.” In the academic realm, FIU announced the endowment of the First Eminent Scholar Chair in Beverage Management Studies in the United States and named the chair in honor of Harvey R. Chaplin.

In 2005, Chaplin also was honored by the Sky Ranch Foundation, inducting him into its Hall of Fame, Class of 2005. This foundation, which is largely supported by individuals as well as suppliers, distributors, retailers and allied organizations in the wine, spirits and beer industries, funds quality care and education for troubled teens at the 3,000-acre Sky Ranch for Boys in South Dakota.

Information on dinner tickets and additional information will be available online at www.nightclub.com and www.lasvegasrestaurantshow.com. 

Oxford Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of Questex Media Group, Inc., publishes Nightclub & Bar magazine, produces the Nightclub & Bar Convention & Trade Show, also known as “The Show” — along with the International Las Vegas Restaurant Show in Las Vegas annually, as well as a secondary East Coast event held in Atlantic City and in June 2008 will launch its first expo in Mexico City. 

Questex Media Group, Inc. is a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media provider, headquartered in Newton, Mass. Questex Media serves multiple industries including technology, travel, beauty, home entertainment, landscaping and industrial and specialty markets through a range of well established, market-leading products and services. The company’s properties include 23 trade publications, 25 conferences and tradeshows, as well as a host of databases and online media brands. Questex has more than 400 employees in offices throughout North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.