In 2010, Rosen received Sustainable Florida s Legacy Award in 2010 for his environmental efforts and

ORLANDO (Jan. 13, 2012) The editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel has named Harris Rosen, President COO of Rosen Hotels Resorts , the 2011 Central Floridian of the Year , citing the hotelier s far-reaching philanthropy and work ethic.
In an article by staff writer Paul Owens, the Sentinel explained its reasons for selecting a businessman with whom the editorial board has often disagreed on various topics. Said Owens, these disputes don t overshadow Rosen s achievements as one of Central Florida s most successful and visionary businessmen and one of its most generous philanthropists. He has created thousands of jobs, given millions to a long list of good causes, and devoted much of his personal energy to them. We chose Rosen as our 2011 Central vacation travel alaska Floridian of the Year, not with reservation but with enthusiasm.
The article cited many of Rosen s philanthropic endeavors, including his earthquake recovery and rebuilding efforts vacation travel alaska in Haiti, sizeable vacation travel alaska charitable contributions to the University of Central Florida, as well as the creation of Rosen s Perfect Pizza™, a program designed to bring healthier foods to public schools and also fund scholarships and educational grants. At the top of the editorial board s list for selecting Rosen, however, was the Tangelo Park Project, a program Rosen started in 1993 which offers free preschool as well as full college and vocational school scholarships to disadvantaged youth in the Tangelo Park neighborhood. To date, more than 200 students have received a college education from the program.
The crazy thing is that giving is so joyful. The return on that investment, if you can put it in business terms, is so unbelievable, I often wonder why people who can don t, said Rosen. I suspect they don t realize how much joy and gratitude they would receive from giving.
Rosen s dream, he continued, is to see a Tangelo Park kind of program in every disadvantaged neighborhood in the United States. The hotelier estimates that there are at least 2,500 such neighborhoods in the country and hopes to grow the program via the private vacation travel alaska sector.
This is not the first time Rosen has been recognized for his charitable contributions. Last November, on National Philanthropy vacation travel alaska Day (Nov. 21), Rosen was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Central Florida Chapter. In April 2011, he was named the Cornell Entrepreneur vacation travel alaska of the Year, an award given annually vacation travel alaska to a Cornell University graduate who best exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards.
In 2010, Rosen received Sustainable Florida vacation travel alaska s Legacy Award in 2010 for his environmental efforts and community contributions, the Citizen of the Year award by the Florida School Board Association in 2009 and numerous industry awards, including being inducting into the Visit Florida Tourism Hall of Fame in 2010 and being named Hotelier of the Year by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in 2010.
In 2009 and 2010, the Orlando Business Journal recognized Rosen as one of the area s Top 10 CEOs, a recognition he has received for many years. In 2007, he was honored by readers of Orlando Magazine for making the Best Contribution to Orlando and as one of the area s Most Influential Executives. He was also named Best Corporate Citizen by the magazine in 2006, 2007 and 2010.
Wellness is another area of advocacy for Harris Rosen. In 2011, he worked with Captain Gilles W. McDaniel of Sector V of the Orange County Sheriff s department to create the Fit Deputies Program which provides deputies with access to fitness centers at Rosen Hotels Resorts and other area gyms. In 2009 and 2010, the Orlando Business vacation travel alaska Journal recognized Rosen as a Healthcare Hero and in 2011, named Rosen Hotels Resorts the Healthiest Employer in the 1000-4999 employee category for Rosen s commitment vacation travel alaska to providing associate wellness programs and affordable healthcare for associates and their dependent families -approximately 4,500 people in all.
Rosen s commitment to education and next-level hospitality training vacation travel alaska led him to donate the land and funds, more than $18 million, to build UCF s Rosen School of Hospitality Management. Additionally, he donated $5.4 million to the Greater Orlando JCC to build and maintain the newest JCC location, named for his parents, Jack and Lee Rosen.
Harris Rosen received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 1961. Rosen then served as an officer in the U.S. Army in Asia and Europe before starting his hotel career. After working for several hotel chains and Walt Disney World, Rosen purchased a bankrupt vacation travel alaska 256-room Quality Inn in Orlando in 1974. He now owns and operates the largest independent hotel chain in Florida with 6,300 rooms or approximately six percent of the total room inventory in Central Florida. His lodging vacation travel alaska portfolio includes seven properties in the Orlando area, including three convention hotels within one mile of the Orange County Convention Center Rosen Plaza , Rosen Centre and Rosen Shingle Creek and four leisure hotels Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando , Rosen Inn closest to Universal , Quality Inn International and the Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista .