THE BRUCE COMMUNITY CHAMPION HONOREE:
Harris Rosen

Harris Rosen is a natural leader and entrepreneur. In June 1974, at 35 years old, he used his last $20,000 saved after being terminated from Disney, to buy a 256-room Quality Inn that initiated his business acumen. From that moment, his destiny as a hospitality professional and leader was built, brick by brick. This is the journey of MAN UP’s 2024 Bruce Green Community Champion Award Recipient, Harris Rosen.

 

Fifty years later, at 85 years old, Rosen is still the president of Rosen Hotels & Resorts which is home to eight properties. This was an unexpected success for him after being fired from Disney as a director of hotel planning. He was told that he would never be “a company man”. But most importantly it wasn’t the voices of others that mattered, his voice was the loudest and he knew his destiny was going to include being a businessman. He tapped into his hotel expertise and invested in himself and his entrepreneurial ventures.

 

“I’ve known since an early age that I’ve been inflicted with what I call that awful defective entrepreneurial gene. Deep down inside I knew that one day I was destined to be in business for myself,” he recalled.

 

His story started with his grandfather moving to the United States from the Ukraine. “My paternal grandfather came from Ukraine and taught me a very valuable lesson about not borrowing money, a lesson that has allowed me to grow slowly and deliberately,” the father of four shared. “Frankly, not having any debt kept us a­float as a company during challenging times.”

 

Watching his father build a life for his family, Rosen grew a desire to help others who needed access to an open door. In the city of Orlando, in 1993, he took it upon himself to adopt the Tangelo community and invest in the families to offer hope and opportunities. He created the Tangelo Park Program that allows children ages two to four, free daycare and parenting classes, vocational courses and technical training for adults.

 

More than $9 million has been spent for the benefit of the neighborhood and Rosen is still very active in uplifting residents. “I will be involved in the program until Tangelo Park is a gated community and the average home is selling for $1 million. Then I’m gone.”

 

His investment in the community has made a difference in the growth and development of the families and communities. Some of the residents are now enrolled in college and building careers that once seemed impossible and farfetched.

 

In 2017, he implemented a similar model in the Parramore Neighborhood, providing students attending the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) and Jones High School with a free two-year, four-year college or vocational school education, sponsored by The Rosen Parramore PS8 Foundation. including room and board, meals, books and transportation.

 

Rosen is leaving a legacy of philanthropy and love for community that will live on for many years, and impact generations to come. The impact that he’s making in Orlando is not just for the love of helping, it’s for the love of people.

 

ABOUT MAN UP MENTORING, INC.

MAN UP Mentoring, Inc. is a community-based non-profit 501c (3) charity organization primarily serving at-risk youth ages 11 through completion of high school or the equivalent across Metro Orlando, with a focus on delinquency prevention and intervention by providing social, educational, and mentoring services. Established in 2014 by Orlando natives, brother and sister duo Christopher and Samantha Wallace. Currently, it is managed by an Executive Director, contractors and a full-time staff of volunteers. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with more than 150 years of law enforcement and civilian experience, as well as advisors from the Orange County Public School System and social services.