Pete Meersman: restaurant rep serves table of 1,400.

• Author: Schwab, Robert
• Position: Executive Edge

FROM COLLEGE BUSBOY AND BAR-tender to the CEO of one of the state's premier lobbying organizations, Pete Meersman knows the restaurant industry well enough to make decisions "on the fly" that can have big, effects on 1,400 member eateries of the Colorado Restaurant Association.

And considering how quickly a proposed new law can change in the Colorado General Assembly, snap decision-making is a necessary role for a chief executive, Meersman says. "At the Capitol," where Meersman spends a lot of time, "believe me, things can change in a minute," he said.

"A bill that you love can be amended in a committee meeting to the degree that you hate it. You can't have a board meeting every time you have to take a position.

"Every business needs a point person who can make decisions on a daily basis." That's why Meersman's 39-member, volunteer CRA board made him president and CEO of the organization in 1994, about the time LoDo's rejuvenation--and flourishing of restaurants--started putting a little sizzle in Colorado's reputation for fine dining. The 1 million people who came to live in Colorado during the last decade, and their demand for and willingness to spend money on good food and wine, didn't hurt his cause.

Meersman's organization, with about 18 staff members, represents an industry that posted $5.9 billion in Colorado sales in 2003--and projects $6.26 billion for 2004. It employs one out of every four retail workers in the state, and Colorado restaurants serve roughly 2 million meals each day, according to the CRA, which itself has a $2.5 million annual budget.

Those financials give heft to Meersman's voice in the halls of the legislature.

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This year that voice is backing state-funded tourism promotion, the CRA's top legislative priority. Meersman serves on the board of the Colorado Tourism Office and staunchly defends that industry, which includes much more than just restaurants and bars.

"Tourism pays a lot of our bills," he says. "We have statistics that show tourists pay $125 of...