The West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association Educational Foundation is a “501c3” charitable organization established in 1999 by visionaries of the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, leading industry employers, and educators. The West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association is the umbrella organization for the restaurant, lodging, attractions, convention & visitor bureaus, and travel industry in the state of West Virginia.
The Foundation’s mission is to create the opportunity for the citizens of West Virginia to enter and grow in the hospitality industry through education. Initially, the Foundation’s primary focus is to build an endowment that will be a sustainable source of scholarship funds for West Virginia residents entering the tourism and hospitality fields.
The WVHTA Education Foundation’s Board of Directors governs and oversees the activities of the Foundation. These Board members represent all facets of the tourism industry, including lodging, food and beverage operations, attractions, and convention & visitor bureaus. Additionally, the WV Department of Education is also represented. All Board members serve on a volunteer basis and meet approximately four times per year. Current Board membership includes:
President, Rod Stoner, Rod Stoner LLC Treasurer, Susie Hofstetter, Currents Consulting Vice President, Gene Coulson, WV Office of HEAT Secretary, Carol Fulks, WVHTA
The WVHTA Educational Foundation is committed to promoting tourism and hospitality as the “Industry of Choice” for young people and those working to advance their careers. A new wave of hospitality education is sweeping over America. The industry is mounting a huge effort to recruit young people into high school school-to-career programs to meet the industry’s need for skilled managers. Instead of just hiring teenagers, hospitality is now reaching out to train and nurture them, and helping them to reach their fullest potential in an industry that offers many rewarding and fulfilling career opportunities.
One of the Educational Foundation’s key partners is the West Virginia Department of Education’s Hospitality Education and Training (HEAT). The state office of HEAT works with the Hospitality Business Alliance (HBA), which is a national partnership of the National Restaurant Association and The American Hotel & Lodging Association. HBA has created a nationwide system of high school hospitality courses linked with mentored worksite experiences. Specifically, the WV HEAT office works with:
Pro-Start® is the nationally accredited two-year, industry-based foodservice management curriculum designed by the National Restaurant Association that develops the culinary and management skills students need to succeed in restaurant and food service careers.
The Lodging Management Program (LMP), designed by the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s Educational Institute, is a curriculum that provides 11th and 12th grade students with classroom learning and work-based components that prepare them to take advantage of the boundless career opportunities in lodging.
Additionally, WV HEAT developed a state-specific curriculum entitled “Travel West Virginia” (TWV). This course is designed to teach West Virginia high school students about the importance of tourism and its role in the state’s economy, as well as to teach them about the state itself and the various hospitality career opportunities that exist in it.
During the 2008/2009 academic year, 51 ProStart, 1 LMP, and 71 TWV programs will operate in West Virginia, with an enrollment of approximately 2.982 West Virginia high school students.
The major goal of the WVHTA Education Foundation’s scholarship endowment fund and career mentoring program is to complete the educational pathway already underway in West Virginia. From a hospitality career website designed for eighth graders, to the TWV, ProStart and LMP programs in the high schools, to articulation agreements with colleges and universities for both Associate and Bachelors degrees in hospitality fields – most of the pieces are in place. Scholarships for worthy, directed students are the final link.
WVHTA EF awards scholarships to students seeking post-secondary education in the hospitality and tourism industry. Applicants must be West Virginia residents to apply, but may be planning to attend out-of-state schools. Currently, the WVHTA EF has created and administers several scholarships:
The WVHTA Educational Foundation Hospitality Business Alliance Scholarship ($1,000): for ProStartâ & Lodging Management Programâ high school seniors who plan to enroll in a hospitality degree program;
The WVHTA Educational Foundation General Scholarship ($1,000): for high school seniors who plan to enroll in a hospitality degree program and have attained work experience in the hospitality industry;
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation/WVHTA Education Foundation “Co-Branded” Scholarship ($2,000): for graduating high school seniors who have completed ProStart and who plan to enroll in a culinary or hospitality degree program.
**The 2010 Scholarship Application and Coverletter can be found below in the Attachments section, directly following this article.
All applicants to the WVHTA scholarships are automatically considered. Downloaded applications should be forwarded to the Education Foundation, along with all requested supporting materials, by the deadline. If you are unable to download, please call (304) 345-1588 and request a hard copy of the application and we will mail it to you.
Other Organizations which offer Scholarships
National Food Processor Association Graduate Student Scholarship Award Program recognizes an outstanding student in the area of food technology/food science who has shown ability to enhance the safety and wholesomeness of food products through research and scholastic achievement in one or more food science disciplines such as food microbiology, food chemistry, biotechnology, sanitation, packaging, or processing.
The industry leaders of today have an obligation to invest in West Virginia’s human capital to develop the industry leaders of tomorrow. That means YOUR support is critical to our success.
Because the WVHTA Education Foundation serves all constituencies, without the restriction of membership, our budget must be self-sustaining. As such, all monies for scholarship funds, endowment funds and operating expenses must be generated through fundraising efforts, including the solicitation of individual and corporate donations, grant writing, proceeds from special events and planned giving programs.
Your donations are greatly needed and sincerely appreciated. Since the Foundation is a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization, your contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
How else can I contribute?
Mentor a Student. Think about the beginning of your career in hospitality. Who taught you the skills that helped you get to where you are today? Was there someone who acted as your mentor? You now have the opportunity to be a mentor to a high-school or college student and to help him/her get a head start toward an exciting and rewarding career in hospitality.
Host a Tour of Your Operation. Allow small groups of students and their teachers to have access to your operation - model a tour after a typical tour that a new employee would have on his/her first day. Introduce the students to workers and have them explain what they do on a typical business day. Encourage questions from the students. Let them see behind-the-scenes activities.
Guest Speak. You know what it takes to put a smile on a customer’s face. You know how to make a business run like a well-oiled machine. Your first-hand knowledge of the hospitality industry is something you should share with both students and their teachers. And a quick 30-minute talk on what employers look for in a new employee could go a long way in developing these students, i.e., future employees.
Coordinate field trips to your vendors’ facilities. This is just another way to broaden students’ exposure to industry opportunities.
The following companies and organizations, all WVHTA members, have been named Founding Members of the Education Foundation for their initial contributions of $1,000. These funds, added to grants received from the Hospitality Business Alliance and the West Virginia Department of Education – Office of Hospitality Education And Training, allowed the Foundation to award its first series of scholarships and hire its first staff member.
The Foundation wishes to thank its Founding Members for their generosity:
Best Western McCoys Inn & Conference Center
Bright Enterprises
Canaan Valley Resorts – Guest Services
Class VI River Runners
Crown Jewels of West Virginia – B&B’s
Fenton Gift Shops, Inc.
The Greenbrier
Holiday Inn Express – Robert Brown Corporation
Laurel Lodge Enterprises, Inc.
Martinsburg – Berkeley County CVB
Mountain River Tours
Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort
Oglebay Resort & Conference Center
Snowshoe Mountain, Inc.
Southern West Virginia CVB
The Woods Resort
Tri-State Greyhound Park
WV Department of Education – Office of Hospitality And Training
