The Florida International University Alumni Association is honored to present Humberto Cabañas ’76 with the renowned Alumnus/a of the Year Award during the fourteenth annual Torch Awards Gala on Saturday, March 28, 2015. The founder and chairman of Benchmark Hospitality International will deservingly receive this award presented to an outstanding alumnus/a who has been a dedicated contributor to their field, alma mater, and community.
Under Cabañas’ leadership, Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading U.S.-based hospitality management company and recognized global leader in the management and marketing of resorts, hotels and conference centers has grown to 36 managed resort, conference center and hotel properties within the United States, Japan and Curaçao. The company today provides management, marketing services and development services ranging from the design phase of projects to facilities construction and technical services. Cabañas is a founding board member and a past president of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), which presented him The Mel Hosansky Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the association and the conference center industry. In 2006, Cabañas received the FIU Torch Award as well as the FIU Medallion Award recognizing his active and long-term involvement as Chairman of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Industry Advisory Board. Prior to establishing Benchmark, he served five years as a director of operations for fifty percent of the wholly-owned properties of the hotel division of The Stouffer Corporation, preceded by six years of service at Doral Hotel and Country Club in Miami where he served as director of operations for three of those years.
This year, the FIU Alumni Association will be hosting the prestigious gala at the luxurious Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, located on 4441 Collins Avenue in Miami, Fla.
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About FIU:
Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
About the FIU Alumni Association:
The Florida International University Alumni Associationis a membership-based organization with over 20,000 dues paying members governed by a volunteer board of directors and currently serves a total alumni base of over 200,000, represented in every state and in more than 30 countries around the world. The mission is to serve the community of FIU alumni, students, family and friends by providing lifelong connections to FIU. The organization strives to provide opportunities to support FIU’s key strategic initiatives, which includes the revitalization and expansion of financial resources, achieving academic excellence, enhancing research and creative initiatives, and engaging the community of FIU. For more information about the FIU Alumni Association, visit FIUalumni.com.