The founder and President of FHS, Maureen was born in Washington, D.C., raised in Maryland and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of MD, College Park. Maureen has worked in the hospitality industry starting in various jobs while in college and continuing upon graduation.
Maureen’s career started in the retail management field working for well known retail chains. Starting in a management position right out of college working for The Limited she was able to garner a national Top Notch Ten award for the highest sales achievement in the company.
After moving on from the retail industry to get into a more business sales environment, Maureen started out as an Account Specialist for a Temporary service in Rockville, MD where she did outside sales for temporary placement in office support. Soon thereafter, she was promoted to Branch Manager. Later she switched over to work in the permanent division continuing sales in an inside position.
Maureen later had an opportunity to utilize her talents and interests in sales in a challenging and creative environment that started her career in the hotel industry. Maureen’s career includes being the Assistant Director of Sales at the River Inn, in Washington, D.C., allowing her to become knowledgeable in all aspects of hotel operations including sales and marketing. Maureen then took her knowledge to the Holiday Inn College Park, as Director of Sales, where she coordinated the sales and catering staff to manage over 10,000 square feet of meeting space and 220 rooms. Maureen then went back to Washington to become the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Doubletree Park Terrace Hotel, a 219 room property with 40 Suites. She was recognized at the Doubletree National Sales Conference for the Brand Selling award of the Year for 1995 and also nominated Director of Sales & Marketing of the year. She excelled in all levels of sales at the Doubletree. Overall accomplishments in her first year at Doubletree in 1995 verses 1994 include a 13% increase in ADR (average daily rate), $300,000 positive variance rooms revenue, 49.7% increase in Gross Operating Profit and a 98% positive variance for Net Operating Income. She maintained a positive variance in revenues while keeping expenses below budget.
In December 1996, Maureen with her wealth of experience and knowledge of the hospitality industry decided to create Ford Hospitality services, Inc. in which she continues to provide top notch customer service to her clientele.
Carmen Gorby, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
carmenfordhos@aol.com
Carmen possesses over 15 years of extensive experience in the hospitality industry. As a hotel General Manager, she and her team excelled in the areas of superior customer service, employee satisfaction and fiscal success. Her hotels were always among the top in the company. Carmen has held positions with several major hotel chains. Her tenure in the sales and marketing arena through positions such as: Traveling Sales Specialist, Director of Sales and Marketing with a portfolio of 7 hotels, has enables her to better understand the needs of her clients locally, domestically and internationally. She has developed long-lasting business relationships that continue today.
Prior to her experience in the hospitality industry, she worked in the corporate and association markets, assisting and coordinating meetings and conferences. This sparked her interest in becoming a hotelier.
Carmen’s in depth understanding of both sides of meeting planning makes her a great asset to her clients, the hotels and FHS, Inc.. She is able to educate her clients from the hotels prospective, as well as possess the knowledge to secure the best possible scenario from the hotels for her clients.
Beth E. Cohen, Director of Sales & Marketing
bethfordhos@aol.com
Born and raised in Baltimore, Beth began working in the hotel business in the eighties and now is delighted to be part of the FHS, Inc. team. Beth graduated from Towson University in 1985 with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications and is a proud member of Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity.
It was a natural fit for Beth to take her extensive communication and leadership skills and apply them to a hotel career. Working for the Sheraton Inner Harbor Beth gained as much knowledge that she could about the industry. She started out as a concierge which gave her a plethora of knowledge that she needed to assist her guests. To learn the inner workings of the hotel she then went to the front desk. From there she progressed to the Reservations Department where she learned to sell the property to prospective visitors. Her job then took her to Philadelphia for 6 years working as Director of Revenue Management at the Sheraton Society Hill.
Upon returning to Baltimore in 1999, she worked for the Hilton Downtown which became the Radisson Lord Baltimore Hotel as a Reservations Manager then as a Manager on Duty. Beth brings over 15 valuable years experience in the hospitality industry to FHS as well as many years of working in the customer service industry before starting in hotels.
Donna Strand, Director of Sales & Marketing
donnafordhos@msn.com
Donna has an extensive travel background and had the privilege to live in Kinshasa, Zaire (Republic of Congo). During those years, the family traveled to various overseas locations. This gave Donna a great deal of experience towards her current position with Ford Hospitality Services, Inc. and booking the overseas market.
Donna graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Hospitality Management and an Associate of Science and Restaurant Management.
Donna’s hotel career started in 1995 when she was hired as a Sales and Catering Manager and was promoted to Sales Manager at a sister hotel. She then moved on to become a Senior Sales Manager and then eventually the Director of Sales.
Donna’s main forte has been in the Corporate Market from the hotel industry. Since joining the FHS team she is now well versed in all market segments to include Associations, Government and the Non-Profit sector. She prides herself on the strong relationships she has built among her clients.
In May 2005, Donna opened Ford Hospitality Services, Inc. newest location in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte, N.C. is one of the hub cities that has approximately 50% of the Fortune 500 companies that are either head quartered or have offices there.
Amanda Burke, Sales Executive
amandafordhos@hotmail.com
Born and raised in Baltimore, Amanda currently resides in the surrounding area of Pasadena where FHS is headquartered. Amanda’s passion for the hospitality industry is what drew her to come work for FHS.
After graduating from high school in 2002 and furthering her education today in college, she has worked for the past 6 years in the hospitality industry. While working in the restaurant and catering field, Amanda coordinated family re-unions, weddings, and a variety of many other social events. Her commitment and assertiveness to detail often resulted in repeat business. The respect from her peers among her resulted in her being the role model for the training of all new employees. Amanda’s knowledge, coupled with her experience made it a smooth transition to work for Ford Hospitality Services, Inc
