Hospitality Heralds
The Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Issue # 4 - Spring Semester 2009
Notes from the Chair
Welcome to the 4th edition of our HTM newsletter aimed at current students and alumni.
Once again the academic year has been busy and appears to have flown by. As we say goodbye to another group of graduates, we are excited for the upcoming academic year with a new cohort of declared HTM freshman entering our classrooms soon. Despite the recent economic downturn, the HTM program at Grand Valley still goes from strength to strength. It seems every few days; we are adding more and more Majors and Minors to our growing ranks. In an effort to continually support that growth, we have recently completed a search and have hired two new professors for the 2009/10 academic year.
In the fall semester, we will welcome Dr. Robert Nash from Robert Gordon University, Scotland. Rob brings over 22 years of teaching experience to our program along with a wealth of industry knowledge and experience. In addition, he is an accomplished author having numerous articles published in top tier academic journals. Dr Nash will be joined by Dr. Seohee Chang from The University of Florida, Gainesville. Seohee has just completed her PhD and brings an international research background in leisure and tourism. Her work experience has taken her from Korea to Brazil before settling here in the USA.
In addition to our new faculty, we have also been able to retain the services of Professor Tim Morey. Tim had reached the end of his 3 year visiting contract but due to our growing student population, we have been able to convert his position to that of an Affiliate Professor for the foreseeable future and thus keep him on the staff.
However, this summer, I’m sorry to say that we will be losing one of our longest serving team members. Lois Searles, our Academic Department Coordinator has decided to leave her post to spend more time with her family. Lois has been a wonderful resource for our program for nearly 21 years and a familiar face to all our students when they enter our office space. Lois will be greatly missed by the faculty, staff and students and we wish her well in her retirement.
Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful summer season. During this challenging economic climate, I'm confident your GVSU education coupled with your sound business knowledge and experience is being put to even greater use. I hope to see many of you at our golf outing in August and please take some time to re-connect with us, we're always here to help.
Professional Association: An Article of Perspective by Lauren Bettcher (Current HTM Senior)
Being a student in today's economy is very challenging trying to balance studies with work and other resume building activities. Lauren Bettcher a HTM senior in GVSU's HTM program offers some sound advice on the importance and financial benefits of joining professional industry related associations......
As a broke college student attempting to make a few extra dollars here and there, let alone pay for school, I can personally attest to the frustrations and stresses that accompany achieving a four year degree at Grand Valley State University. On the other hand, as a student actively involved in the Hospitality and Tourism Management program, I have held three paid internship positions that have assisted me in my collegiate endeavors. For those of you not up to speed on labor facts affecting students like you and me, here’s some information on popular student jobs in Michigan according to the Michigan Labor Market Information website sponsored by Michigan.gov:
• Waiters and waitresses make an average of $7.48 per hour (this includes averaged tips)
• Amusement attendants and ticket takers bring in $8.18 per hour
• Front desk clerks garner an average $8.90 per hour
• Bartenders make approximately $8.30 per hour
• Tour guides see $10.27 per hour of service
Exciting, right?
Putting this information in perspective means you need quality links between the “college job” or “internship” you might currently have and the jobs you have serious potential for in your near future. Realizing this last summer for me meant developing my professional network of contacts and opportunities by joining two industry organizations, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and International Special Event Society (ISES). Student membership was under $40 for each organization and I was immediately recognized as an active member of these organizations; upon being “accepted”, I was sent a 40-page directory of professional contacts in our industry, newsletters, invitations for future networking and industry-related events, step-by-step information on how to access the online network of professionals including group links, blog capabilities, and
a profile, along with student-specific scholarship information.
To read the full article and take some of the sound advice Lauren offers, follow this link... www.gvsu.edu/cms3/assets/F4A97FB5-9920-385E-9AD4ECAB8C0E5E04/documents/Professional%20Associations%20An%20article%20of%20perspective.pdf
Returning to the HTM Home in Italy in 2009
On May 1st 2009, HTM faculty Lisa Sisson and Charles Baker-Clark will return to the Piedmont region of northern Italy with another group of students. This year, there will be 21 students in the program (19 women and 2 men). They will again spend much of their time at a small hotel in Castiglione Falletto. The hotel is managed by our hostess Renata. It will be our third consecutive year in which they will spend much of their time at her hotel. We are beginning to think of it as our home in Italy.
This year we have added several components to the program. There will be a new cooking lesson from regionally acclaimed pasta chef Gemme. We will also participate in a cheese walk in the city of Bra, observe a truffle hunt and watch honey gathering. Since 2004, the program has managed to bring over 110 GVSU students to this region, and we already have a waiting list for 2010.
Over the 4 week study students obtain 6 HTM credits in International Food and Culture and International Tourism. The credits can also be applied to their General Education curriculum requirements.
Driving Tourism 2009
Last month 3 Professors from Grand Valley's HTM program took 26 students to the Driving Tourism Governor's Conference in Detroit. This is an annual event for industry professionals to learn about the state of the tourism economy in Michigan and offers an excellent opportunity for professional development and networking for faculty and students. One highlight from this year's conference was the announcement of increased funding for the travel Michigan marketing campagin ( www.michigan.org
) which will see approximately $30 million spent on a national advertising campaign this year. The tourism economy in Michigan generates approximately $1.1 billion in revenue and and contributes in excess of $75 million in incremental state taxes. This increased advertising expenditure should continue to raise awareness of the outstanding tourism product Michigan has to offer and will hopefully increase demand for student and graduate employment in the sector. http://www.gvsu.edu/htm/
The Maxwell Market
As a follow up to a field trip in our Gastronomic Tourism class, HTM Associate Professor Charles Baker-Clark presented a paper on Chicago’s Maxwell Market at the 10th annual Conference on the Americas held at Grand Valley State University. The theme of this year’s conference was the politics of immigration. In his presentation, Charlie suggested that the Maxwell Market and its adjacent neighborhoods represent a potential destination for culinary tourists. The potential of culinary tourism for the neighborhood is substantial, and has the capacity to support local businesses while preserving the identity of the neighborhood. To read the full article, see... www.gvsu.edu/cms3/assets/F4A97FB5-9920-385E-9AD4ECAB8C0E5E04/documents/Maxwell%20Market.pdf
New Scholarships for HTM Students
One of our goals this last academic year has been to work diligently to provide increased opportunities to support HTM students in their studies. One aspect of that was to try and increase the number of scholarships available to assist them financially. Through the generousity of a couple of key industry stakeholders and the fundraising efforts of faculty, I'm please to announce that the Department will be able to offer 4 new scholarships for 2009/10 academic year. We are grateful to the Hyatt Place Grand Rapids/Wyoming and Traverse City Convention Visitors Bureau for both creating annual scholarships for HTM students. In addition, money from our golf outing fundraiser last summer has been used to create 2 additional scholarships available to support unpaid internships and active membership of our HTM Club respectively.
Golf Outing 2009
Following the overwhelming success of our 1st Annual Golf Outing Fundraiser last year, we are very excited about the prospects for 2009. The Friday, August 21st date for the 2nd Annual HTM/KCLA Golf Outing at The Meadows is rapidly approaching!
We have great news that the cost for a four-ball and dinner remains the same and includes all the same privileges. Again, there will be a silent auction, raffle for door prizes, and numerous course contests. The purpose of the outing is to continue our fundraising efforts to support our HTM endowment which offers financial assistance to our students in pursuit of their academic and employment endeavors. Currently, we are soliciting sponsorships, silent auction items, and door prizes for the raffle.
We sincerely appreciate all the support given to our program through this event and we hope to increase the number of participating Alumni this year. For a registration form and more information, please see: www.gvsu.edu/cms3/assets/F4A97FB5-9920-385E-9AD4ECAB8C0E5E04/Images/HTM%20&%20KCLA%20Golf%20Outing%20Brochure%20-%202009_1.pdf
Where are they now?
After our last Hospitality Heralds newsletter in the fall semester, we heard back from some Alumni inquiring about where some of our previous faculty had gone when they left GVSU. Therefore, in future editions of this communication, we will endeavor to track down those instructors who had an impact on your HTM education....look out for the fall 2009 newsletter for this to commence.
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