ORLANDO, FL— The New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association sponsored four students and their teacher on a trip to Orlando, FL, to participate in the American Hotel and Lodging Association Lodging Management Program’s National Competition sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and the team did not disappoint.
This year’s team from the Mountain View Academy (MVA) of Whitefield is coming home from Disney World with the first-place trophy after taking first place in the Hotel Operations category, tying for first in the Knowledge Bowl (a “Jeopardy”- style question-and-answer session), and placing second in the Hospitality Project. In this close competition, the school representing Washington DC took second place and the South Carolina program placed third overall. This marks just the second year NHLRA has sent a team to the LMP National Competition. Last year on their first attempt the Mountain View Academy placed second nationally.
Participating in this year’s competition were Gina Pappa, Rachel Gross, Cortney Landry, and Matthew Burt. Each member of the MVA team had a particular area of expertise to contribute to this year’s first-place award. As part of the first-place award, each of
these students has been awarded a $20,000 scholarship to Johnson & Wales University--$5,000 a year for four years. The team was accompanied by White Mountains Regional High School (WMRHS) business teacher Lisa Perras, who is very proud of all of her students who participate in the lodging management program.
Kevin Sullivan, NHLRA chairman said, “These are extraordinary students and we look forward to having them as great leaders in our industry. I am proud of the job these students have done in representing NH.”
NHLRA held the first annual New Hampshire Lodging Management Program Competition back in March, at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway. This is where the MVA team qualified to represent New Hampshire at the national hospitality competition against top Lodging Management Program (LMP) students from across the nation. Region #9 Vocational-Technical School in Wolfeboro was the only other competition at the New Hampshire event. They are in their first year of the program. In 2007, at least two more schools are expected to join the program.
Now in its second year, the Mountain View Academy is a learning partnership of the Mountain View Grand (MVG) Resort and the Vocational Region #3 Centers at WMRHS and Littleton High School. It is supported by Citizens Bank Foundation and American Express Foundation under the leadership of the NHLRA. The MVA Lodging Management Program uses a curriculum developed for nationwide use by the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute—the organization that puts together the national contest in Disney World.
The MVA team was well prepared for the competition. Every MVA student spends the first 90 minutes of each school day at Mountain View Grand. Three days a week they meet as a group in a small on-site classroom, and the remaining two days each student works with a manager from one of the resort’s 20 departments. Joe McInerney, president and CEO of American Hotel & Lodging Association, participated as a judge for the event. He also bought tickets for each student who participated in the National LMP Competition to enjoy Disney World on Thursday night. All the students were thrilled.
~ Michelline
