Information & Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2007

Contact: Keith Kehlbeck, Executive Director
800-344-5244
keith@selectregistry.com

AMY JORDAN NAMED INNKEEPER OF THE YEAR BY SELECT REGISTRY

MARSHALL, MI — Innkeeper Amy Jordan, owner of the Stone Hill Inn in Stowe, VT, has been presented with the "Hallmark of Hospitality Innkeeper of the Year Award" by Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America.

The Innkeeper of the Year Award honors owner-innkeepers who have contributed in significant ways to the Association, the industry, and the community. "This award is about the individuals' accomplishments in the community, be it a small town, a popular tourist area, or a group of professionals. Amy Jordan has done a lot for her area, and for this Association," said Phyllis Murray, Select Registry Board President.

Murray said that the award was largely based on testimony provided by Jordan's peers. "This award is not about the winner's property...its style, grandeur, age or décor. The nominees considered were all contributing members of our Association and have been leaders in the industry," said Murray, innkeeper at the Montford Inn, Norman, OK.

"Amy Jordan is an outstanding example of an innkeeper who provides exceptional hospitality to her guests, while remaining active and invested in her community and our Association," notes Keith Kehlbeck, Executive Director of Select Registry. "Her active participation in a wide variety of Association projects and her accomplishments as an innkeeper and as a member of the Stowe community demonstrates how important civic awareness and innkeeping excellence are to her."

Jordan graduated with honors from James Madison University's College of Business and began working for Marriott hotels, where she received five Bill Tiefel Awards for excellence in guest service. She also co-owned a restaurant in Virginia Beach.

She was looking for a year-round tourist destination in a mountain community that offered a desirable quality of life. Eventually she decided Stowe, Vermont was the ideal location, as it has everything right in one town — skiing, fall foliage, cultural events, shopping, great restaurants, and more. However, no inn on or off the market seemed to be the right fit, so she decided to build an inn from scratch. The permitting process was painstaking and expensive but worth it in order to have a property that truly reflected her tastes and that would meet the needs of the guests they hoped to serve. One and a half years later, she had permits in hand and began construction. In December 1998, Stone Hill Inn welcomed its first guests. Since then, the Inn has been praised by the New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, Montreal Gazette, SKI, Yankee, and others. Stone Hill Inn was named one of the Twelve Best B&B's in North America by Forbes.com.

Amy has been proud to be a member of Select Registry since 2002. She is an active member of the Stowe Area Association, sitting on its Internet Committee and serving as Chair of the Marketing Committee. She also serves on the Board of Trustees and its Executive Committee. She is a past member of the steering committee for the Vermont Country Inn and Bed and Breakfast Council. Her activities for Select Registry have included serving on the Internet Committee, organizing an open house reception for the North American Travel Journalists Association, and pioneering a regional food passport promotion called "Fun For Foodies."

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For many years known as the Independent Innkeepers' Association, Select Registry was founded in 1972 by Norman Simpson, "the Father of Country Inn travel in America." An offshoot of Simpson's popular and pioneering book, Country Inns and Back Roads, the Association has provided introductions to first class inns and B&Bs for nearly thirty years. Its annual guidebook, with a circulation of nearly 400,000, is the largest publication of its kind in the industry. Originally established in the Berkshire area of New England, the nonprofit organization is now headquartered in historic Marshall, Michigan. Member inns meet rigorous annual standards of a Quality Assurance Program, and represent the most prestigious establishments of their type. Currently, more than 400 country inns, B&Bs, and unique small hotels in the United States and Canada belong to the organization.