Ron Vlasic, regional VP of hotels for Kimpton and former AH&LA chair, stepped into a new role this year as chairman of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (IHLAEF) with a mission. “I’m trying to create more named scholarships for the foundation,” Vlasic says. “It’s more important than ever as the hotel industry grows to make sure we have enough qualified candidates to grow with it.”
As the educational arm of the state hotel association, IHLAEF provides grants and academic scholarships to college students pursuing hospitality management degrees throughout the country with funds raised through corporate and individual contributions. “It’s only $25,000 a year to start a scholarship, so this isn’t a lot of money and it makes a huge difference,” Vlasic says. “And it’s fun when you can help a kid who really needs it.”
As an example of how these scholarships can change lives, Vlasic points to Lisa Danno, a student who won a $5,000 scholarship in 2007. “I was going into my senior year at Michigan State and really needed it,” Danno says. “Hospitality was what I wanted to do since junior high.” She had become interested in hotels and tourism after traveling around the world with her family. “I knew I wanted to be part of something unique.” She adds that MSU’s program had already exposed her to the breadth of lodging industry careers, from club management to finance and development. Yet it was only after she took the lead on running a couple of hospitality school events, and turning a profit on them, that her interest was piqued on event planning.
Danno now works as the catering manager at the Hotel Monaco in Chicago. “I remember being very impressed with her application,” Vlasic says. “And I’m happy she came to work for Kimpton after she graduated.” Danno did one of her internships at the Hotel Monaco while she was at MSU and was hired to be on the opening team for the Hotel Palomar in Chicago after she went through Kimpton’s management training program.
Vlasic says IHLAEF currently has only three named scholarships, and he’s looking to build it up to 10 by the end of the year.
