For many years, ICHRIE and its CHRIE FutureFund™ had supported Best Paper winners from the Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism by awarding complimentary registration to the ICHRIE Annual Conference to each student winner. During Future Fund Committee meetings held in fall 2022, co-chairs Misty Johansen and Carl Winston encouraged committee members to think bigger in terms of Future Fund impact. At its December meeting, committee members voted unanimously to approve awarding each student Best Paper winner from the Graduate Conference with a $1,000 award voucher. The award voucher provided complimentary registration for the 2023 ICHRIE Annual Summer Conference in Phoenix, as well as allowing the respective winner to choose among a complimentary one-year ICHRIE membership, reimbursement of lodging in the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa during conference, or reimbursement of airfare to/from Phoenix, with total award maximum of $1,000.
ICHRIE and its CHRIE FutureFund™ congratulate the graduate student Best Paper winners from this year’s Graduate Conference; Barbara Atanga (Penn State), Araceli Hernandez Calderon (University of Houston), Wangoo Lee (Temple University), and Lavi Peng (Penn State).
CHRIE FutureFund™ Committee members wanted to send a clear message that ICHRIE supports graduate education and research, as these graduate students are the future faculty. Although 2022 was not the best year for Future Fund in terms of return on its investments, FutureFund™ was delighted when an anonymous donor approached them with a gift to completely fund the award vouchers. Co-chairs Misty Johansen and Carl Winston have set serious goals for CHRIE FutureFund™ to achieve, and CHRIE FutureFund™’s presence and participation at the 28th Annual Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism held in Anaheim was just the first step in the committee’s work for 2022-2023.
As a reminder, any ICHRIE member (or non-ICHRIE member) can DONATE to the Future Fund at any time, and donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. tax system. The CHRIE FutureFund™ Committee looks forward to the 2023 ICHRIE Annual Conference in Phoenix, where they will share future ideas with membership.
