(St. Louis, MO) – April 2012 -- At the 31th Annual Conference of the International Association of Conference Centers–Americas, President Peter Stockmann announced that the chapter would award three scholarships this year to deserving students in hospitality programs. Sean Sands, General Manager at FLIK Hotels & Conference Centers at Kellogg, and Chairman of IACC-Americas’ Education Committee, thanked members for supporting the IACC Scholarship Fund through a voluntary supplement to annual dues and presented the scholarships to the students.

IACC Conference Center Industry Award
Emmanuelle Willis, who is currently working toward her B.S. in Hospitality Management at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD was the recipient of this $5,000 scholarship. Established by the IACC-Americas Board of Directors as part of a broader initiative to introduce the leaders of tomorrow to the advantage of choosing a career in conference centers, the award helps offset the growing cost of education and includes registration fees, transportation and accommodations at the IACC Annual Conference in the spring of the award year.

Ms. Willis has completed internships and externships at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel and the Sheraton Gateway Hotel Atlanta Airport. She is on the Dean’s List and member of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality as well as the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society and the Golden Key International Honor Society.

Active in the Morgan State Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Ms. Willis is a Mentor with EAGER, Enhancing Adolescent Girls for an Evolving Resolution Mentoring Program.

The Doris Sklar Award
The IACC-New York University Doris Sklar Scholarship was established 13 years ago in memory of longtime meeting professional, Doris Sklar. Active in IACC and a proponent of using conference centers for meetings, Doris Sklar was widely known and respected for her work with General Electric and as an independent consultant. She taught the meeting planning curriculum at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.

Serena Sun was the recipient of the award, which includes a grant in the amount of $5,000, plus registration fees and all expenses for the IACC Annual Conference. Ms. Sun is pursuing her B.S. in Hotel & Tourism Management with a concentration in Tourism Development at the NYU Tisch Center. She has received Dean’s List honors every semester since her sophomore year and is an active member of the Hospitality Business Society student club.

Ms. Sun is also a volunteer for “Two Birds, One Stone,” an organization that donates food to local homeless shelters. Originally from Los Angeles, she has interned and worked at the Plaza Hotel, the B.B. King Blues Bar & Grill and the Blue Note Jazz Club since her move to New York City. After graduation, Ms. Sun intends to continue working in the hotel or tourism development industry.

IACC Future Leaders Award
The winner of the 2012 Future Leaders Award is Shawna Haggerty, who is now working on her Masters of Tourism Administration with a concentration in Meeting & Event Management at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. The award package, which is granted to students of hospitality in good standing at accredited institutions, includes one conference registration, transportation to and from the conference and full CMP accommodations on-site (approximate value - $3,000.00).

Ms. Haggerty carries a 3.9 GPA and in addition to maintaining a full course load, she is a Graduate Assistant at GWU, Sustainable Footprint Program Assistant at the International Finance Corporation and a Conferences, Meetings and Events Intern with the International and American Associations of Dental Research.

Ms. Haggerty already has experience in creating and executing events for undergraduate students, volunteering for non-profit events and working for an event management company in Boston. She has executed more than 50 executive training programs with the Harvard Business School. She has been accepted into a Sustainable Consulting Practicum course that will take place in Peru this summer where she and a number of other graduate students will implement a sustainable destination plan for the city of Cuzco.

Mission Statement:  The International Association of Conference Centres is the thought leader on the meeting experience.  IACC represents its members by defining and promoting the IACC Meeting Concept and providing learning opportunities.
 
Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference center industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Universal Criteria and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org.  “There are meetings and then there are IACC meetings."