By: Carol Dunham

An internship can be scheduled anytime during your college years, but it is usually between the 2nd and 5th years. Recently, Lisa A. Dunham, an RHIT student at Purdue University, completed a four-month internship in Irving, Texas with Bristol Hotels and Resorts. Some TCEM students had an opportunity to meet Lisa over the last two summers. She took RHIT 141, RHIT 291 and RHIT 1291 at the IUPUI campus.

The first logical step to an internship is for a student to outline her/his expectations. She said, "I was looking for a company with a property of more than 400 rooms, several restaurants, meeting space, employee training and advancement, and had private housing available at little or no cost. Bristol Hotels and Resorts met the criteria I wanted, so I responded immediately when they offered a minimum three month internship at their Harvey Hotel property near Dallas, Texas."

Bristol Hotel Management was established 18 years ago, and operates 115 hotels and resorts with more than 30,000 rooms in twenty-seven states and Canada. In the next three years, Bristol will invest $200 million into a major redevelopment program to renovate and re-brand 19 key assets in Crowne Plaza. To this date, nineteen of these hotels are of the top twenty-five lodging markets in North America.

After accepting Bristol’s offer, Lisa was contacted by the company, with all necessary information including company and property brochures, basic agenda, housing information and the date to arrive in Texas.

Lisa left Indianapolis, Indiana by car in mid January 1999 and arrived the next day at the Harvey Hotel in Irving, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas. Not knowing what to expect, she said, "I had told my parents, who traveled with me in their car, that if we arrived in Texas and the hotel was not what had been represented, that we would turn about and come back to Indiana.

The Harvey Hotel has 506 overnight rooms, 58 conference suites, and 36,000 square feet of banquet space. What a challenge Lisa had ahead of her.

"My whole experience at the Harvey Hotel was more than I had hoped. The same day I started, I was working in the Scoop’s Restaurant, a 50’s style diner in the hotel, seated 120 people. Having experience from working in a chain restaurant for several years, gave me a good solid background and by week’s end, I was running my own shift and had been given the title of assistant restaurant manager." During the four months she interned, she also was given late working hours in the upscale Benton’s Restaurant, where she was introduced to fine dining and bartending skills, and also worked late room service duty on the weekends.

Lisa commented, "The entire internship was a exciting experience. The hotel staff made me feel very welcome and was very patient while I honed my management skills. With the guidance of the department managers, I learned the Bristol’s philosophies and service commitment which added to my management knowledge. My staff was wonderful and we all worked well together, even though most of them were Mexican and did not speak-English, there was always someone working nearby who could translate for me."

For two months, Lisa trained at the two hotel restaurants and then chose to move on to banquets. She told me, "I was a little apprehensive about working in banquets since I had never done that before, but I felt it was like a new frontier to conquer. In less than two weeks, I learned quickly and was running my own shift in banquets. I had found my niche!"

Learning the different parts of banquets and how they fit together to run smoothly and efficiently was her goal. "I learned a lot there, and still have a lot more to learn, but I know now that banquets is where I want to be when I graduate."

Asking about her future plans, she said," If at all possible, I am going to apply for employment with Bristol Hotels after graduation. Bristol Hotels care about their employees and try to keep them happy with encouragement and patience. I think these are the most important qualities from a company I would want to work for. If you can keep your employees happy, you will keep your guests happy. This is the key to hospitality management. My internship with Bristol Hotel management company was a tremendously rewarding experience that I will remember forever and I would like to continue meeting and exceeding my goals with them in the future."

Internships are a means of learning and a basis for career decisions. Lisa’s internship changed her direction from hotel management to banquet management. Students should seek out an internship before graduating. It will broaden the working knowledge of a student in their chosen field and may very well change the direction of a career choice in a significant way as with Lisa Dunham’s internship.

The TCEM department maintains a list of potential internship opportunities in the Indianapolis area.

Event Management Internships
Cooper Communications, Inc.
Convention Management
Services, Inc.
Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association
Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.

Lodging Internships
Choice Hotels International
Fourwinds Resort and Marina
Oakwood Inn and Conference Center
White Lodging Services, Inc.

Foodservice Internships
Atlas Restaurant Supply
Crooked Stick Golf Club
Crystal Food Services
Rob Hoaglin Fine Catering
Indianapolis Marriott
Oakwood Inn and Conference Center
Omni Severin Hotel
Puccini’s Smiling Teeth Pizza and Pasta
Sysco Food Service of Indianapolis

More internships are currently being established. Please see Pat May, for assistance or call 274-2599.

Department of Physical Education internships for fall semester:

St. Francis Hospital, Jewish Community Center, Motor Activity Clinics, IUPUI, Indianapolis Athletic Club, Methodist Hospital, Lebanon Boys and Girls Club, Baxter YMCA

A Group for Minority Meeting Planners
By: Michelle Strong

Increasingly, meeting planners are recognizing that they, too, are a diverse group. Consequently, there is a group that has been established to serve the needs of minority meeting planners.

The National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners (NCBMP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the training needs of African American meeting planners. Since its founding in 1983, NCMBP has made a significant impact in the hospitality community by identifying the purchasing power and impact of the African American convention.

The mission of the NCBMP is to the educating of African American meeting planners in all aspects of the meeting planning profession. The NCBMP strives to:

• Enhance the professional status of African American meeting planners, by providing educational opportunities in support of the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) examination.

• Stimulate managerial opportunities in the hospitality industry for qualified African Americans. Develop a network in the hospitality industry for the African American meeting planner and supplier.

• Members of the NCBMP include meeting planners from numerous businesses, civil rights organizations, and church organizations. Associate membership is available to individuals who represent hotels, convention bureaus, city government officers, airlines and other suppliers who offer services to the meeting and convention community.

• Membership benefits include:
1. Credits toward qualification as a Certified Meeting Professional by attending NCBMP conferences.
2. Networking opportunities
3. Scholarship opportunities
4. A quarterly newsletter that contain information concerning tips on meeting planning, articles on trends and new technologies in the industry.

Membership is available to Meeting Planner’s with one year of experience, Association Presidents, and Executive Directors qualify for this membership. Membership fee is $125. An Associate Membership is available to Suppliers’ servicing meetings and conventions. Membership is $250.

As a member of the NCBMP you will have access to other meeting planners with comparable race and ethnic backgrounds. By attending the "member only" conferences and workshops you will be able to discuss similar challenges and learn of practical solutions from experienced black meeting planners. As with any professional industry, being a minority can be challenging, however, with the help of associations such as the NCBMP, you can conquer those challenges with professional success.

For additional information, contact the NCBMP at: 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 126, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, Phone: (202)
628-3952, E-mail: ncbmp@compuserve.com.

"The Future’s So Bright!"
By Tiffany Blair

The IPRA (Indiana Parks and Recreation Association) state conference was held September 7-9 1999 in Columbus, Indiana. It is the largest conference of the year concerning IPRA. Business professionals and other entrepreneurs attended this three-day seminar. All students in RHIT 362: Tourism Economics along with their professor Dr. Sotiris H. Avgoustis attended the conference.

"The Future’s So Bright!" was the theme of the 1999 IPRA conference. Over forty exhibitors provided information about the leisure market place on what is new and how to improve on old ideas. Educational sessions were held all three days on different recreational topics, such as alternative sports programming, advertising, and state park facilities.

The RHIT 362 class left at 7:00 a.m. for a full day of events on Sept. 7. Once at the conference, students volunteered their time. Some worked at the "job desk" where information was handed out on an assortment of jobs. Others introduced speakers and handed out any informational forms that were needed for the seminar. After volunteering, students were given the opportunity to sit in on the sessions offered.

Seminars that seemed to be most interesting to students were "The NOAH Principle", "Corporate Sponsors Go Public", and "Marketing Tool Kit". "The NOAH Principle" touched on basic concepts of readjusting in an evolving organization and seeing the value in building relationships and partnering within the organization and community ("No more rewards for predicting the rain: only rewards for building the ark!"). "Corporate Sponsors Go Public" enhanced the idea of creating corporate sponsorship campaigns, systems of promotion, documentation, and follow-up, and discussed legal and philosophical issues concerning advertising. "Marketing Tool Kit" gave creative approaches to effectively marketing, formulating a marketing plan and how to create an identity for your facility.

To learn more or how to join IPRA contact the TCM department.

Student Organizations Plan Activities

PESO (Physical Education Student Organization) officers are: Michelle Laker, President; Laura Wanser, Vice President; and Betty Jones, Advisor.

Activities for fall include a Bucket Brigade Team Competition as part of the Campus Chili for Charity event on Tuesday, October 12; if you are interested in participating, contact Betty Jones.

On October 13, a Student/Faculty Brown Bag Lunch is scheduled in the Student Lounge. Members are invited to eat, visit and play cards during the lunch hour.
Members will be participating in the clothing drive sponsored by Phi Epsilon Kappa; details to be announced.

PESO Night, an evening of pizza, basketball, and volleyball will be held in the Main Gym. The date is to be announced.

THS (Tourism Hospitality Society) officers are: Natalie Bolinger, President; Tom Waltman, Vice President; Angela Cusic, Secretary; Shawn Bradford, Treasurer; and Sotiris Avgoustis and Linda Brothers, Advisors.
Activities planned include a Thanksgiving fundraiser lunch on Monday, November22 in ET 201. The cost is $5.00 per person to enjoy turkey and the trimmings. Students discussed the possibility of volunteering at the eight Annual RCRA (Resort and Commercial Recreation Association) Conference, November 12-15 in Hilton Head, SC. The students would depart on Thursday evening November 11 and return on Sunday, November 14.

A Thanksgiving shopping trip to Chicago may be planned.

To inquire about membership in either organization, contact an officer or advisor.