Hospitality Heralds
The Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Issue # 5 - Fall Semester 2009
Notes from the Chair
Welcome to the 5th edition of Hospitality Heralds, our semi-annual newsletter aimed at keeping students and alumni updated on developments in GVSU’s HTM Program.
You will see from this edition that the faculty and staff have been extremely busy enhancing the educational experience for our students and continuing to expand our program. Our numbers have once again increased (for the ninth year in a row) and we now exceed 515 majors with almost 50 students pursuing a minor. Our new faculty members (Dr. Robert Nash & Dr. Seohee Chang) are both settling in well, bringing a wealth of experience to the classroom. During the summer, we also welcomed Rita Cooper to the HTM Program. Rita has done a wonderful job filling the role of office coordinator since Lois Searles retired in July. Other personnel matters this fall include the conversion of Robert Robins from visiting faculty status to Affiliate Professor and the appointment of Scott Rood as Assistant Department Chair to help with the growing administrative responsibilities in the
Department.
This fall, we are also in the midst of interviewing candidates for another faculty position on the team. While many universities have been looking at ways to cut costs, we have been fortunate to continue with our expansion and are seeking a new professor to teach in the area of lodging and events.
Other exciting developments this semester has been the creation of a new Alumni Board. Look for an update on their work in our next edition of this newsletter next year.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season. Be safe, enjoy the break, and keep in touch.
2nd Annual HTM/KCLA Golf Outing
On August 21, 2009, the GVSU HTM Department once again partnered with the Kent County Lodging Association to host the Second Annual Golf Outing at the Meadows. Participants braved the elements to not only post fine scores, but also to raise scholarship funds for hospitality students.
Some of the top prizes included tickets to the Journey Concert at VanAndel Arena, overnights and dinner packages at local establishments, and current season golf equipment! The event proved to be a time of camaraderie, bringing together hospitality professionals, faculty, and students for a good cause.
Thank you to all those who attended, donated, and otherwise volunteered their time. We look forward to seeing everyone in August 2010!
Nutritional Assessment of Meals Served in the Heartside Area Soup Kitchens
Obesity is one of the greatest public health issues today reports assisant professor, Lisa Sisson. It is increasingly observed in homeless people living in poverty who have access to excessive calories from diets high in added sugar and fats and low in vegetables, fruits, dairy, and whole grains. These energy-dense diets promote diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Homeless people frequent soup kitchens for many of their meals. These same people are often overweight or obese and have high incidences of related diseases. In May of 2007, community members of the Grand Rapids Heartside District formed the Community Care and Enrichment Team (CCET). Their goal was to address the health concerns of its members and establish methods to intervene to improve their health. They initially decided to improve their nutrition. A group of Grand Valley students collaborated with this team
to assist them in reaching their end goal of reducing the incidence of diabetes and obesity. Click this link to read the complete story: main.gvsu.edu/htm/index.cfm.
Scholarships
Earlier this year, two students from GVSU’s HTM program were selected from a number of applicants to receive scholarship awards from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF). The scholarship is awarded to students enrolled in an undergrad or graduate hospitality degree program and recipients are selected from over 105 schools across the US. In a typical year, the Foundation distributes more than $568,000 in scholarship and outreach educational programs to more than 350 students and hospitality professionals.
This year Julie Pluger (HTM Senior) and Laura Dean (HTM Junior) were each awarded $2000.
The AH&LEF scholarship is just one of many available to our students. A full list can be found at: www.gvsu.edu/htm/index.cfm.
On the subject of financial help for our students, the HTM Department is pleased to announce the creation of two new scholarships for 2010. As a result of our fundraising efforts over the past few years, we are now in a position to offer these awards to our majors. Click this link to learn more about our two newest scholarships:
The HTM Club Scholarship and the ‘Lois Searles’ Unpaid Internship Award
HTM 318 Fenn Valley Tour
In September 2009, the HTM 318 class ("Responsible Beverage Management" under the auspices of Allison Adams) visited Fenn Valley Vineyards and Wine Cellar. For over 10 years, Fenn Valley has been kind enough to conduct a tour of the vineyards and share wine knowledge with our students. Aaron Haar has been the tour guide for a number of years and he is always full of information (and jokes!). This fall we were again fortunate to have good weather and the students learned about an assortment of wine types, tasted the grapes from which the wines are made, and viewed the wines up close and personal. The tour is so popular that sometimes HTM students ask to bring friends along! After tasting a Meritage, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Late Harvest, Riesling, and assorted other wines, the beverage management students came away with a Fenn Valley wine glass as a reminder of their
experience.
The HTM Department is grateful to Fenn Valley Vineyards for their repeated hospitality and encourages you to visit the Fenn Valley Tasting Room and perhaps, if the sun is shining, take a vineyard tour yourself.
Adventure Tourism Warms to Summer
A dozen adventurous spirits signed up for Adventure Tourism (HTM 268 under the auspices of Robert Robins) for the first ever summer offering. The offering of this activity-filled exploration in the fastest growing segment of tourism industry delves into what motivates people to take on risky activities in pursuit of tangible and intangible rewards. Students examined the historical foundations and defining topologies of Adventure Tourism, and then took to the beautiful Michigan outdoors to live the experiences for themselves.
The class combines classroom discussion with experiential learning as students studied the motivations and rewards of climbing Mount Everest, then tackled the Climbing Center's 45' climbing wall. Early seafaring exploration and ocean racing discussions were followed by a day of sailing on Lake Michigan and another kayaking on the Grand River. The underwater adventures of Jacques Cousteau and the research of Bob Ballard were made real with a Discover Scuba session in the Field House pool. To prepare those students interested in following a career in tourism, and particularly adventure tourism, the class combines case study and discussions with hands-on experience.
With the Adventure Tourism minor in the final stages of approval, the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management continues to provide its students with the tools, knowledge, and skills necessary to succeed in their careers and have fun doing it. After all, we are in the people pleasing business! Be adventurous!
Faculty Focus
The HTM Department would like to share some of the work Dr. Charles Baker-Clark has been engaged in this year. For more information on his appointment as a journal Editor-in-Chief, his work at the American Folklore Society Conference, and his special topic course's chili cook-off, please link to www.gvsu.edu/htm/index.cfm.
RCRA Conference
A. Scott Rood attended the 29th Annual Conference of the “Resort and Commercial Recreation Association,” November 6 -12, 2009, held at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, SC. He is a member of the Association’s Board of Directors, and co-chaired the peer-reviewed Researcher’s Symposium. He also presented details of his research on, “Understanding generational diversity in the workplace: what resorts can and are doing.” Professor Rood received the Association’s annual
“Success in Leadership”
award. Six Hospitality and Tourism Management students accompanied Professor Rood to the conference (Janet Rininger, Erica Ellis, Jennie Wentzloff, Kyle Holmes, Kennisha Wrack, and Karissa Morgan), five of whom were offered full-time or internship positions. To view student's trip pictures click: www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=571521027/a=1182470027_1182747027/.
Michigan Hospitality Education Alliance (MIHEA) Career Fair
The Michigan Hospitality Education Alliance is a unique cooperation between hospitality educators and employers. Every year the MIHEA holds a Career Fair aimed at soon-to-be graduating Hospitality and Tourism Management students.
For the past few years, the event has been held at GVSU’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. Julie Doyle (Coordinator of Hospitality Programs/MIHEA Career Fair Director) primarily organizes the event from Ferris State University, and with her team brings local and national employers together with students from Michigan universities. Students have the opportunity to initially meet with the employers in the morning session of the Fair, attempting to organize interviews for the afternoon with the employers of their choice. To read this entire article click: www.gvsu.edu/htm/index.cfm.
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