Bob and Iris Larson

Bob and Iris Larson opened the first hotel property at the entrance to the new Disney World park in the early 1970s and whose Iris Larson Hospitality Endowment has assisted the academic pursuits of deserving hospitality students in Florida for more than a decade.

Iris and Bob Larson moved to Kissimmee in 1958 to be close to her parents in Plant City. Though both had teaching degrees, they were entrepreneurs from the start, opening a plant that made plastic drainage pipe.

Walt Disney’s announcement of his plans for thousands of acres secretly purchased here meant changes for all Osceola residents. It also meant opportunities.The Larsons were among the first entrepreneurs to see the significance of the dawning Disney era. They secured a $1.25 million bank loan to build a 120-room Red Carpet Inn in Kissimmee. Along the way, the Larsons expanded the original motel, built a second and opened a 36-acre water park. Today, Kissimmee hosts thousands of visitors bound for Central Florida theme parks, and the hospitality industry is the backbone of the local economy.

William C. Peeper

William C. Peeper was the President of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. William is credited with helping make Central Florida a major destination for business meetings and instrumental in the creation of a regional tourism promotion coalition to expand the area’s visitor appeal.

In November of 1979, Peeper assumed the position of President of the Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau where he served until coming to Orlando in May of 1981.

Peeper joined the fledging staff of the Orange County Convention Center with two roles, director of marketing for the Convention Center and director of the Convention Bureau which was then also a part of county government. Working with the private sector hospitality industry of Central Florida he helped form the not-for-profit Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc. and became it first CEO in 1984 where he has served as president until his retirement in January 2007.

He has seen Central Florida’s tourism industry grow from 35,000 hotel rooms, a handful of theme parks and attractions, 150,000 square feet of exhibit space to its current 115,000 hotel rooms, 99 attractions and 2.1 million square feet of exhibit space making it the second largest convention center in the United States, with the second largest market share of convention and trade shows in the country.

During that same period Peeper also oversaw the growth of the convention and visitor bureau sales and marketing staff from two to its current level of 170 with offices in five countries and convention sales offices in four U.S. cities. He has traveled extensively both nationally and internationally to promote the Orlando region.

Peeper is recognized as an industry leader and has worked tirelessly to advance the tourism and convention industry nationally while growing the market on the home front.

Tom Waits

Tom Waits was the President and CEO of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association. He was a pivotal force in the creation of the Florida Commission on Tourism and its operating company, VISIT FLORIDA, which is now recognized worldwide as the model for a successful private/public tourism marketing partnership.
Tom Waits was the President and CEO of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association. He was a pivotal force in the creation of the Florida Commission on Tourism and its operating company, VISIT FLORIDA, which is now recognized worldwide as the model for a successful private/public tourism marketing partnership.

Past Tourism Industry-related Affiliations include:

Commissioner, Florida Commission on Tourism;
Board of Directors, VISIT FLORIDA;
Chair, Industry Advisory Council;
Division of Hotels & Restaurants, State of Florida;
Past President, International Society of Hotel Association Executives;
Founder, Chair, Leon County Tourist Development Council;
Past President, Tallahassee Area Convention & Visitors Bureau;
Past President, Florida Society of Association Executives Foundation;
Board of Directors, President 2003, Florida Society of Association Executives.