The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Education Foundation has created five new scholarships worth $5,000 each to award to deserving college and university students.

The tuition-based scholarships are named for Roy B. Evans Jr., CAE, the former president and CEO of PCMA, and will honor his service and generosity. Evans devoted 17 years of service and leadership to PCMA and the meetings industry, serving as PCMA’s president through 2000. He strongly supported education and professional development for PCMA members.

A total of $25,000 will be awarded each year through the five scholarships for the next three years. In addition to the generous scholarship, underwritten by the PCMA Education Foundation, recipients will have the opportunity to write an article to be published in a PCMA publication.

"Students are the future of our profession, and they will provide the new ideas, insights, and enthusiasm that will raise our profession to even higher levels in the years to come,” says John Patronski, Chair of the PCMA Education Foundation Roy B. Evans Scholarship Task Force and Executive Vice President of GES Exposition Services. “We are proud to support them through these scholarships."

Scholarship applicants will be considered based on academic record, hospitality work experience, current and planned involvement in the hospitality industry, recommendations by faculty and work supervisor, and PCMA involvement.

To be considered, all applicants must be a PCMA student member and applications must be postmarked by September 15, 2005.

PCMA 2005 Scholarship Recipients The PCMA Education Foundation also announced several 2005 scholarship recipients.

The annual “Chairman’s Scholarship” will bring Olga Onyshchenko of The George Washington University and Katie Steigerwalt of the University of Delaware to the 2006 Annual PCMA Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The winners will network with industry leaders and fellow students while enjoying the special distinction of being “Chairman’s Scholars.” The scholarship, sponsored by NYC & Company, includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and free registration for the meeting.

This year’s recipients of the “Annual Meeting Scholarship” are Charlotte Crabbe of the University of Houston, Min-Sun Park of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Tim Winkler of George Mason University.

The scholarships provide an opportunity for the winners to work and attend the 2006 PCMA Annual Meeting where they will join industry professionals and gain valuable experience to prepare them for a career in the meetings industry. The students will receive complimentary airfare, hotel, and registration in Philadelphia, and in return for scholarship funding, the winners work directly with PCMA staff during the annual meeting.

The “Student Planner of the Year” winner, Bori Csillag of Ryerson University, has a “hands on” opportunity to actually plan and present an educational session during the 2006 PCMA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia for approximately 200 students who will attend. This opportunity gives Csillag the experience of planning an event from start to finish.

The Student Planner of the Year scholarship will include round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and free registration for the meeting.

The “Minority Scholarship”, sponsored by the PCMA Education Foundation, was awarded to Megan Oxman of the University of Central Florida. The $500 scholarship will offset the expenses of her professional membership fees, textbooks, professional publications, and/or association meetings. Oxman was nominated by PCMA Faculty Members at the University of Central Florida.

University of New Orleans won the 2005 annual “Student Chapter of the Year Award.” The chapter was honored for its overall leadership, academic excellence, community/campus involvement, Web site development, membership growth and participation in the hospitality industry.

The University of New Orleans student chapter will receive $1,000 to assist with chapter projects, events, and activities.

To be eligible for any PCMA scholarship, students must be a PCMA student member. For more information about the scholarship program, contact Christine Baron at students@pcma.org or at 312-423-7233.  For more information about PCMA and the PCMA Education Foundation, visit www.pcma.org.