Fred,

Over the course of the last several decades in the United States, the landscape of health has vastly changed. Today more Americans are drinking high-calorie beverages instead of water; working more hours and sleeping less; and being less physically active than ever before. These changing lifestyles are not only taking a toll on our health, but driving up health care costs in a way that can't be sustained.

But the good news is this: healthier lifestyle choices today can improve our health tomorrow. And by helping more people access healthy lifestyles, and inspiring more people to make wellness a priority, we can build a healthier future for all.

The Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI) was created to do just that – to help people change the course of their own health while simultaneously changing the systems and places that affect individual health. Over the course of the next few months, we'll be sharing a variety of tools and solutions that are improving health outcomes for people, communities, and businesses across the U.S. – and providing more ways for you to get involved in activating wellness with your friends and neighbors.

Here are some actions you can take to start:
	Test your wellness knowledge with our quiz – and share it with your friends.
	Learn more about the issues by reading a message from Ginny Ehrlich, CHMI's Chief Executive Officer.
	Visit the Clinton Health Matters website to see some solutions that are already working on the ground.

Thank you for supporting our newest initiative, and we look forward to building a healthy future with you.

– The Clinton Foundation

Former Ritz Carlton President Horst Schulze Talks About The New Frontier In Luxury Hotels

             

Most everyone knows Horst Schulze as the man who defined the luxury hotel experience through his long tenure as President of The Ritz Carlton Hotels. After resigning over a decade ago, Shulze took the weekend off and then announced to his family, “I’m going to do it one more time.” That following Monday he began looking for an office.

Horst Schulze

Today Schulze is once again at the helm of a pioneering luxury operation, the West Paces Hotel Group. But this time he insists the dynamics have changed and his hotels are once again re-defining luxury for the industry.  I caught up with him at the recent Taste of the Nation event in Atlanta (where he was an honorary chairman). Warm, effusive and funny, Schulze opened up about everything from who mows his lawn (his wife, sometimes) to the new frontier in luxury: ultraluxury.

Estralla Suite at Capella Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas

I knew I should have been better at Ritz Carlton and taken luxury to another level. The moment you step out of where you were, at that moment you know what you did wrong. It’s hard to see that when you are in it. Knowing what I knew and having to sit there for the rest of my life knowing it would make me crazy. I had to go out and create Capella Hotels.
The luxury market is changing. Luxury is evolving and what was luxury yesterday is not luxury today. It used to be a glass elevator in a hotel lobby. We conducted numerous intensive customer studies and it was clear at the time that the luxury market was changing, evolving into two markets. You will see in the next few years that you will refer to the traditional luxury hotels (Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton) as affordable luxury and the next level is our brand of ultraluxury.
Our Capella Hotels are ultraluxury; the new dimension in luxury. Ultraluxury is defined by the guest. Our studies show they do not want large hotels. They want the infrastructure of a large hotel (spa, restaurant, etc) and they want activity and privacy at the same time. We knew our Capella hotels would have to be small, not host big conventions and specialize in personalized service. You cannot have individual, personal service in a large hotel, it’s not possible. The smaller hotels are where we truly care for our guests and do everything as long as its legal, moral and ethical.
Ultra luxury means no conventions. We talked to individuals who might pay $800 for small suite on club level. They’d hop on the elevator and get pushed into the corner by the guys who are attending the Beer Can Collector’s Convention. Now, our guest says, “I have nothing against conventions, but I don’t like them to control me and my experience.” That development really started 10 years ago, you could see it, but it wasn’t clear, today it’s quite clear.
We are superior to the competition because we hire employees who work in an environment of belonging and purpose. That is my mantra. We foster a climate where the employee can deliver what the customer wants. You cannot deliver what the customer wants by controlling the employee. Employees who are controlled cannot respond caringly, you need superior knowledge and real leadership, not management. Because of this we specifically developed a selection process for leaders; we don’t hire managers.
The finest people in the world work in our hotels and I don’t let just somebody train them when we open a hotel, I train them. I did that in 50 Ritz Carltons and I still do it. I do it because I love it, not because I have to.
I’ll give you an example of our employee dedication. We had a night bellman who went with a guest to the hospital (the guest had appendicitis) and stayed all night there with him. That’s who we are.
I didn’t take Trip Advisor seriously at first, I have to tell you. Two years ago I received a call from a guy who tells me his stay atCapella Pedregal was his greatest hotel experience in the world. He loved it so much he had to tell me in person. I asked him, ‘how did you find out about us?’
He told me he looked under most expensive hotels in Cabo San Lucas and then went on Trip Advisor and noted who had the best comments.  I couldn’t believe he made a decision from Trip Advisor. Now I take it very seriously, we watch it constantly and immediately go to any guest that had a problem.
I think it is immoral to hire people to fulfill functions, a chair has a function. We hire people to join us and be part of us; their job/function is incidental. You hire a human being to be part of dream and part of a vision. We just did employee survey, asking them how much they cared for our company, on a scale of 1 to 5, five being the highest. Ninety-four percent answered with a score of five! This is unheard of, totally incredible, I love this company!

We have another brand, Solis. It will compete directly with the affordable luxury hotels, larger and able to host conventions, etc.
I was born in a small German village in the Mosel and left home at 14 and started as a bus boy. I knew I wanted to be in hotels at the age of 11. My parents finally agreed to let me leave and I’ve lived in hotels ever since. Today I live in a home with my family, but for a long time it was hotels. I know the pain of every employee in my business, because I have done every job.
In my down time I fish and look at flowers with my wife. I have four daughters so that was our life for a long time; they are older now. There is a lot of simplicity to our home; we don’t have a butler or anything else like that.
It takes conscious effort to remain simple when all I do is luxury for a living. I remember my first hotel manager job. My wife and I decided that once a week we would go shopping for groceries and not depend on room service to just send something up. We worked to keep our feet on the ground, not using the maid service every day, etc. It’s very easy, but dangerous, to get used to that kind of life. I never wanted to get to that point of idiocy, where we couldn’t smell our own perfume. I didn’t want that nor did my wife; we have a relatively normal life. I don’t intend to dismiss who I really am.
No one can compete with Capella. Other hotels cannot say I will do everything for you; they cannot do that with 600 rooms it’s impossible.

 

More Than 1,000 Volunteers Unite for ‘Day of Action’ to Help New York City Victims of Hurricane Sandy

The Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative, with Team Rubicon, NYC Service, and New York Cares, mobilize more than 1,000 participants to join President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton in a day of volunteer service in the Rockaways

New York, NY – On Sunday, November 18, the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) brought more than 1,000 volunteers to the Rockaways in Queens to participate in “A Day of Action for New York,” an effort to bring relief to one of the areas hardest-hit by Hurricane Sandy. Joining President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, volunteers spent more than 5,000 hours clearing debris, cleaning out flooded basements, cleaning the beachfront, and distributing disaster relief supplies and coats to aid in the recovery of a community still reeling from Sandy’s devastation.

“The impact of Hurricane Sandy has devastated families and communities along the East Coast, including many right here in New York City,” said Chelsea Clinton. “Yesterday, the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative were able to bring people and organizations together for a Day of Action for New York to aid in recovery efforts. By working with friends, partners, and local community members, we were proud to be able to make a small but meaningful difference in an area hard hit by Sandy.”

The Rockaways, an 11-mile peninsula in Queens facing the Atlantic Ocean, was one of the areas most impacted by the storm. Thousands of residents experienced extensive damage, including loss of power and homes destroyed by floods and fires. Recovery has been slow for the many victims still without heat, power, and running water.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 volunteers, including staff, supporters, and friends of the Clinton Foundation, and CGI members and commitment makers, worked at locations throughout the Rockaways. More than 500 volunteers helped home-owners clear debris with Team Rubicon, a CGI member whose CGI commitment includes engaging veterans and military family members in 1.5 million hours of volunteer service in communities nationwide by July 2013. The remaining volunteers, in coordination with NYC Service and New York Cares, worked at the Key Foods and St. Francis Church distribution sites to hand out emergency supplies and canvass door-to-door to provide crucial information to residents. Volunteers were also dispatched to Rockaway Beach to help with park cleanup efforts and to Peninsula Library to help distribute winter coats.

In addition to the immediate response to Hurricane Sandy, the Clinton Foundation and CGI recognize that most disaster response involves a multi-year effort and will continue to explore the long-term challenges of how to best coordinate efforts, forge partnerships, and strategically respond to the devastating effects of man-made and natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. Through its ongoing focus on “Resilient Cities,” CGI is looking for new ways to strengthen infrastructure and be better prepared to protect vulnerable populations from the rising sea levels, droughts, and increased frequency of storms that coincide with climate change.

Please visit clintonfoundation.org/main/get-involved/take-action/support-hurricane-sandy-relief-efforts.html to learn of other ways to support disaster relief efforts or commit volunteer hours in your own community.

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                                                       About the Clinton Foundation

Building on a lifetime of public service, President Bill Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation with the mission to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods, and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private citizens to turn good intentions into measurable results. Since 2001, President Clinton's vision and leadership have resulted in more than 4.5 million people benefiting from lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment; more than 15,000 U.S. schools building healthier learning environments; and more than 33,000 micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, and smallholder farmers improving their livelihoods and communities. And President Clinton has redefined the way we think about giving and philanthropy through his Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). To date, CGI members have made nearly 2,300 commitments, which have already improved the lives of more than 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $73.1 billion. For more information, visit clintonfoundation.org.

                                                      About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,300 commitments, which have improved the lives of over 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at more than $73.1 billion.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

                                                                     About Team Rubicon

Team Rubicon (TR) unites the skills and experience of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams into crisis situations. TR offers veterans a chance to continue their service by helping and empowering those afflicted by disasters, and also themselves. For more about Team Rubicon, visit www.teamrubiconusa.org.

                                                                         NYC Service

The NYC Civic Corps is the signature initiative of NYC Service, which was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in April 2009 to meet his State of the City pledge for New York City to lead the nation in answering President Obama's national call to volunteerism. NYC Service is meeting its goals to make New York City the easiest place in the world to volunteer, target volunteer efforts to address the most pressing local challenges, and promote service as a core part of what it means to be a New Yorker. NYC Service aims to drive volunteer resources to six impact areas where New York City's needs are greatest: strengthening communities, helping neighbors in need, improving education, increasing public health, enhancing emergency preparedness and protecting our environment.

Since its inception in April of 2009, NYC Service has engaged over 2 million New Yorkers in a wide range of volunteer activities, from beautifying neighborhood blocks, to providing tax assistance to low-income families, to volunteering to teach free fitness classes at City recreation centers, to coating rooftops with reflective white paint to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NYC Service oversees 25 new or expanded volunteer initiatives and the comprehensive website, located at www.nyc.gov, has made it easier for New Yorkers to find opportunities to make a difference. More than 560,000 unique visitors to the NYC Service website had access to over 5,700 volunteer opportunities.

New Yorkers can find opportunities to serve their communities by visiting www.nyc.gov or by calling 311.

                                                                     New York Cares

New York Cares is New York City’s largest volunteer organization. Founded 25 years ago, New York Cares runs volunteer programs for 1,200 New York City nonprofits, city agencies, and public schools across the five boroughs. Last year, 54,000 New York Cares volunteers served on hands-on volunteer projects helping 400,000 New Yorkers in need. New York Cares offers a full range of volunteer programs that meet critical social needs, including helping children learn to read, preparing meals for homeless and housebound people, helping low income students get into college, and much more. For more information, visit newyorkcares.org.