News for the Hospitality Executive |
(March 2012,
East Lansing, Michigan) - Students in the MSU chapter of Club
Managers Association of
America (CMAA) have something to celebrate after a record
number of its members attended the 85th World
Conference of CMAA in New Orleans Friday, February 24 – Monday,
February
27. The chapter took home not one, but two awards: Club of
the
Future Competition for Event Planning and Student Membership Growth
Award for
the Highest Percentage of World Conference Attendees. Dr. Bonnie Knutson, professor and the chapter advisor, was certainly proud, as was School Director and Professor Dr. Ron Cichy (BA ’72, MBA ’77), who traveled with the students. They made it to the world conference despite rough travel conditions, leaving as they did in the midst of a snowstorm. But they made the best of the conditions, and the students were high profile at the conference, attending numerous educational sessions and workshops, including the keynote speech by football great Archie Manning; networking with private club executives and managers; and attending The School of Hospitality Business’s MSU Alumni/Student breakfast on Tuesday morning before all the competing chapters received their awards at the CMAA Student Achievement Breakfast/Orientation later in the morning. “It was a fascinating seminar,” says Luke Magnini (BA ’12), MSU’s CMAA chapter president. “We all know that products have ‘brands,’ and that people make decisions everyday over which brands to choose, based on a wide variety of things. But Gary talked about people, too, having brands, and little things go into which ‘brand’ a company will hire. It gave us a lot to think about.” Gary was just as impressed with the students, saying, “It was great seeing the Spartan students at CMAA. I was proud to see our contingent there, and the fact that they took two major CMAA awards back to East Lansing was great, too. I was also so proud of them when they sang the fight song the loudest among the other hundreds of CMAA student attendees during my session. All this, along with the recent PCMA chapter of the year award last month - and I'd say that The School is on a major roll!” “I think the students always benefit from our alumni, whether it’s through a session like Gary’s or through our Alumni/Student breakfast,” says Dr. Cichy. “The alumni are wonderful mentors, and I cannot say enough about the professionalism and maturity of our students this year. It was a pleasure attending the conference with this group of remarkable individuals.” And their two awards support Dr. Cichy’s contention. Each student’s travel and registration expenses were covered with scholarship funds in The School designated for this purpose. “I was grateful to be able to apply for the travel money,” says Natalie Fort (BA ’13). “The experience and the contacts are invaluable, especially as I prepare to pursue a career in the private club industry.” WE ARE THE SCHOOL™ “WE” includes students, faculty, alumni, and industry partners. “THE” reflects our 85-year expertise in Hospitality Business management and operations, and the addition of a real estate understanding and thinking like an owner throughout our curriculum. About The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University: We are The School Recognized as the top-ranked hospitality business school, The School has a unique and industry-specific position within the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Celebrating its 85th anniversary year in 2012, The School has almost 10,000 graduates worldwide, including a number of leading academicians and industry executives who have earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Founded in 1927, The School offers an exceptionally well-crafted curriculum, taught by innovative professors who are leading textbook authors, sought-after consultants, and respected researchers. The mission of The School is
For more information, please visit us at www.hospitalitybusiness.msu.edu |
Contact: Lena Loeffler 517-353-9211 [email protected] |