Richard "Dick" E. Marriott will receive the National Restaurant Association's 2026 Legends Award on May 16 in Chicago, capping a six-decade career that began busing tables at his family's Hot Shoppes and now spans boardrooms at Host Hotels & Resorts and First Media Corporation.
The award recognizes Marriott's uncommon staying power in an industry famous for turnover. He officially joined the company as a restaurant manager in 1965 and never left the sector. More importantly, he put his money and reputation behind the political machinery that keeps the business viable. The Richard E. Marriott Golf Invitational has raised nearly $9 million for the Restaurant Advocacy Fund, which bankrolls state and local lobbying efforts—the unglamorous but essential work of protecting tip credits, fighting mandates, and keeping labor costs from spiraling.
Marriott also chaired Bridges from School to Work since helping launch it in 1989, a nonprofit that places young people with disabilities into hospitality jobs. And in 2025, he backed the creation of the J. Willard Marriott School of Hospitality at the University of Utah, ensuring the family name stays attached to workforce pipelines for another generation.
"His leadership, generosity, and commitment have made restaurants better places to work for everyone who depends on them," said Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. That's the polite version. The blunt read: Marriott understood early that advocacy dollars and training programs are what separate operators who survive policy shifts from those who get crushed by them.
The Legends Award, chosen by the NRA Governance Committee, goes to figures who've done more than build brands—they've shaped the legislative and workforce landscape the rest of the industry navigates. Marriott checks both boxes. The ceremony happens at the Gold & Silver Plate Awards hosted by IFMA on May 16, 2026, in Chicago.
