Dirona Moves To The Big Apple

The Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRōNA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has chosen a new management company and relocated its headquarters to New York City (effective December 1, 2002), where The Kellen Company will manage the operations of DiRōNA and its awards program.
Founded in 1990, DiRōNA members today include many of North America's finest restaurants. The organization's main objective is to motivate restaurants to strive for a consistently superlative dining experience through DiRōNA's "Award of Excellence." To obtain the award, restaurants must pass a 75-point anonymous inspection, conducted by trained industry professionals.
Additionally, the industry experts at DiRōNA assist consumers in locating the very best in distinguished dining in Canada, Mexico and the United States through its annual "Guide to Distinguished Restaurants of North America," published by Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. DiRōNA restaurants can be found in over 300 cities across North America.
The DiRōNA Board is confident that this move will allow the organization to fulfill its expansion goals in the upcoming year. "DiRōNA chose The Kellen Company because of its outstanding staff, resources and vast experience in association management, which our organization requires to assist the Board to achieve its important objectives -- both now and in the future,"said DiRōNA Chairman Rick Powers, who is also Director of Food & Beverage for the Coeur d'Alene Resort, including Beverly's restaurant, located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
DiRōNA goals for the year 2003 include expanding brand awareness and media exposure, as well as promoting the fine dining industry in general and improving regional governance. Special projects include a new Web site, a branding and positioning workshop, and increased tradeshow participation. Additionally, the organization is working to increase opportunities for major sponsors. Currently, DiRōNA's platinum, gold and silver sponsors include such companies as American Express, Coca-Cola Fountain, Starbucks Coffee Company; Guest Informant, Robert Mondavi Winery, Wine Spectator; Ecolab, Inc., Oneida; and Options Philip Morris USA.
Holly Koenig, a Vice President and Officer of the Kellen Company with more than 15 years of experience in association management, now serves as the organization’s Executive Director. "Here at the Kellen Company, we have a long tradition of working with food-related clients, such as the Association for Dressings and Sauces, Processed Apples Institute and Research Chefs Association. And we are thrilled to welcome DiRōNA to our New York offices," said Koenig. "With such a broad experience base at our company, we know that we can assist DiRōNA in accomplishing its goals."
Founded in 1964, The Kellen Company is the second largest association-management firm in the United States. Its 110 employee-owners serve 47 organizations out of offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Additionally, The Kellen Company boasts an award-winning public relations and marketing division, Sumner Rider & Associates; a graphic design and desktop publishing division, SR&A Creative; and HQ CyberServices, an in-house Web design and development team.
The new headquarters address is 355 Lexington Ave., Fl. 17, New York, NY, 10017-6603; telephone: (212) 297-2144, fax: (212) 370-9047. For more information on Distinguished Restaurants of North America, visit www.dirona.com. More information on The Kellen Company can be found at www.kellencompany.com.