By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association has announced the appointment of Mary Paulino Torre as its new president, replacing longtime president David Tydingco, who stepped down to pursue other interests.
Torre was previously employed by TakeCare Health Systems for 10 years and held the position as senior vice president of health plan and services for Guam, Saipan and Palau.
In her 10 years of service, Torre was responsible for sales, product development and management, marketing, communications, research and community relations.
Prior to TakeCare, Torre worked for various advertising and public relations agencies in Wisconsin and California and has a B.A. degree in Communications-Public Relations and Advertising, with a minor in Marketing, from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to Torre, she is honored to serve as GHRA’s new president.
“I look forward to working together with the board of directors and the membership of GHRA as the association celebrates its 35th year in 2007. GHRA has a strong membership, history and purpose within our community and there are many long standing projects to continue building on, as well as program enhancements which I am very excited about leading,” Torre said.
She added that the foundation GHRA has established is an important one as the group continues to develop Guam as a preferred tourist destination, continuously working on improving the service standards in the tourism industry through education and service training programs.
Richard G. Rennie, chairman of GHRA, said the board of directors is delighted to have Torre join the association as its president.
“Following in the footsteps of David Tydingco, we believe that she is the best person to lead the association into the future,” Rennie said.
GHRA’s primary goals are to promote the highest standards of service and quality in the hotels and restaurants on Guam, advocate just legislation and governmental regulations governing the conduct of business, improve business-community relations through positive interactions with Guam’s citizenry, and publicize the value and benefits of the island’s visitor industry to the territory’s economy.
GHRA is a private, non-profit trade association which began in 1972 with a small group of hoteliers. GHRA later revised its bylaws to include restaurants and allied members. Today, the association has 281 member-organizations with nearly 9,000 guest rooms and over 15,000 employees.
GHRA strives to be an active corporate citizen in the community. In this spirit, GHRA gives academic scholarships in the visitor industry trade, provides training and educational opportunities, grants funds for civic projects, provides monthly statistical reports, publishes the “Hospitality Guahan” monthly newsletter and quarterly magazine, and hosts the annual fireworks display, a gala dinner, the Pacific Hotel and Restaurant Exposition, and other special events.