NEW YORK CITY-Piling into the Gotham Room of the Marriott Marquis hotel, here, attendees and press from the days’ New York University's Hospitality Conference gathered for the UJA-Federation of New York's Hotel & Hospitality Division Cocktail Reception to pay tribute to the work of the UJA-Federation and honor Eric Danziger, president and CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group for his charitable work outside of and through the organization. Luminaries attended the event, to name only a few: Choice Hotels' president and CEO Steve Joyce; Laurence Geller, president, CEO, director and founder of Strategic Hotel Capital, LLC, as well as Scott Berman, principal at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Gary Mendell, chairman and CEO of HEI Hotels, introduced the evening thanking co-chairs Beth Rosenthal and Alana Feldman. He noted that with the evening’s fund-raising, UJA had raised $300,000 from over 200 attendees and sponsors, and that the “contributions made tonight will help those when they need it most.”

Of the many works the UJA-Federation is responsible for, they have donated $2.5 million for work dealing with the autism spectrum; helped 38,000 people affected by the recession; 200,000 struggling seniors to find healthy meals and affordable housing and care; 40 summer programs; and services throughout 60 countries engaging with 100 beneficiary agencies; to name only a few statistics.

Wyndahm CEO Steve Holmes introduced Danziger noting that the honoree for the evening cares for the people around him and offered a quote from John F. Kennedy as support, “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you the rest of your life.”