Awarding Future Hotel Leaders with Educational and Career Advancement
The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF), the not-for-profit affiliate of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), is holding its inaugural Lodging Management Program (LMP) Competition, April 21–23, at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel in Orlando, Fla. The three-day event allows outstanding high school students to demonstrate their knowledge and various skill sets needed for advancement within the U.S. lodging industry.
Teams consisting of two to four secondary students— winners from participating states — will compete to become national champions as well as recipients of scholarships and prizes. To display their proficiency in the hospitality industry, students will partake in three contests including: the Knowledge Bowl, a questions and answers, quiz format; Hotel Operations, a critical thinking and problem-solving challenge; and Hospitality Project, an event-planning scenario.
“This competition brings together the best and brightest high school students in the hospitality industry from across the nation to showcase their skills and abilities. This venue also allows AH&LEF to continue its mission of making noteworthy financial contributions to the educational endeavors of future hoteliers,” said AH&LEF CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA. “Additionally, these students’ participation will help set standards for others who may have an interest in pursuing a hospitality industry career.”
Competing teams include students from Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming.
LMP provides high school juniors and seniors with the classroom learning and real-life work experiences needed to take advantage of the boundless opportunities in lodging. It helps students take their first real steps toward promising hospitality careers. Work experiences with specially trained worksite mentors are combined with a practical curriculum that imparts real-world skills and hotel management concepts.
Topics covered in the program include an overview of lodging management, front office and housekeeping management, leadership skills, marketing and sales, and food and beverage service. Through internships, students can explore the wide variety of careers open to them in the hotel industry.
Event sponsors include Diners Club International, Hilton Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Sealy, Inc. Supporting sponsor is USA Today.
For more information about the 2004 LMP Competition, contact AH&LEF Director of High School Programs Faye Gayes at (407) 999-8160 or fgayes@ei-ahla.org. For sponsorship information, contact AH&LA Vice President of Business Development Robert Craycraft at (202) 289-3154 or rcraycraft@ahla.com. Also, visit AH&LEF’s Web site at www.ahlef.org.
AH&LEF is the only educational dollar-dispensing, not-for-profit affiliate of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. In April 2002, it merged with AH&LA’s other affiliate, the Educational Institute, to become the largest educational and training provider for the hospitality industry. For over 88 combined years, the newly formed AH&LEF is the premier organization for scholarships, professional certification, and instructional material as well as funding for industry research.
AH&LA is a 94-year-old dual membership association of state and city partner lodging associations throughout the United States with some 11,000 property members nationwide, representing more than 1.5 million guest rooms. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it provides members with advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other services to ensure a positive business climate for the U.S. lodging industry. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.
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