FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Contact:
Carolyn Viles, Director Grants & Scholarships Bert Rivero, Regional Director
Tourism Cares IATAN
781-821-5990 x208 877-734-2826
Carolynv@tourismcares.org info@iatan.org
Tourism Cares and IATAN Partner to Benefit Students of Travel
Travel industry philanthropy will manage IATAN Ronald A. Santana Scholarship Fund
Canton, Mass. (May 12, 2010)-Tourism Cares, the travel and tourism industry’s premier philanthropy with a mission to preserve the travel experience for the benefit of future generations, has now assumed the responsibility of administering the International Airlines Travel Agent Network’s (IATAN), Ronald A. Santana Foundation Scholarship Fund. IATAN, the travel industry’s premier accreditation program, realized the benefit of having Tourism Cares, which now promotes and administers the scholarship programs of both NTA and ASTA, handle its long established fund.
The IATAN Foundation was established in 1996 in memory of the late Ronald A Santana. Santana was a member of the IATAN Board, a past president of the Association of Retail Agents (ARTA) and a travel agency owner and advisor. The fund was established to recognize his dedication and tireless efforts toward the education of travel agents. The fund has since awarded more than $82,500 in scholarships to IATAN accredited agents and to those wishing to begin their careers in travel and have met the scholarship criteria. The criteria tie in with IATAN’s mission to promote professionalism, administer meaningful and impartial business standards, and provide cost-effective products and services that benefit the travel industry.
“The Ron Santana Memorial Foundation was created to provide scholarships to those who were inspired to join our exciting travel industry,” said Bert Rivero, IATAN’s Regional Director for The Americas. “Many deserving people have benefited from the scholarships in the last 14 years that IATAN and its Board wanted to ensure these scholarships were protected and continue to serve our industry. There was no doubt that Tourism Cares was the right organization to promote and administer the fund to the high standards that IATAN has maintained for so many years. IATAN’s pledge to continue to support the Ron Santana Memorial Foundation has been and will continue to be unwavering.”
“It’s an honor for Tourism Cares to be the official philanthropy of IATAN,” said Bruce Beckham, Tourism Cares’ Executive Director. “The addition of the IATAN Ronald A. Santana Memorial Scholarships, when combined with the academic and professional development scholarships we now administer, will allow Tourism Cares to award more than $100,000 per year to deserving members of the present and future travel industry workforce. That’s very exciting for everyone involved, especially during these challenging economic times.”
In 2010, five $1,000 IATAN Ronald A. Santana Memorial Professional Development Scholarships will be awarded to applicants who are entering or working in the travel, tourism or hospitality industry. These will be used toward reimbursement of the costs of successfully completed travel-and-tourism or hospitality certificate programs at U. S. state-licensed schools. The application deadline is Thursday, July 1, 2010 5 pm EDT. For more information, please visit the Tourism Cares Professional Development Scholarships webpage at
http://www.tourismcares.org/scholarships/professional-development-scholarships.
In addition, beginning in 2011, the Santana Fund will feature academic scholarships. Information about those awards will be available at a later date.
Tourism Cares is a 501c(3) non-profit public charity that benefits society by preserving the travel experience for future generations by awarding grants to natural, cultural and historic sites worldwide; by presenting academic, professional development and service-learning scholarships to students of hospitality and tourism; and by organizing volunteer efforts to restore tourism-related sites in need of care and rejuvenation. For additional information about Tourism Cares, visit www.tourismcares.org.
IATAN Accreditation Programs promote professionalism, administers meaningful and impartial business standards and provides cost-effective products and services that benefit the travel industry. Guided by a diversified board comprised of all sectors of the industry, including travel agencies, home based businesses, large corporations, hotel, cruise lines and airlines, IATAN provides a vital link between the suppliers community and the U.S. travel distribution network. For more information about IATAN, visit www.iatan.org.
Contact: Contact:
Carolyn Viles, Director Grants & Scholarships Bert Rivero, Regional Director
Tourism Cares IATAN
781-821-5990 x208 877-734-2826
Carolynv@tourismcares.org info@iatan.org
Tourism Cares and IATAN Partner to Benefit Students of Travel
Travel industry philanthropy will manage IATAN Ronald A. Santana Scholarship Fund
Canton, Mass. (May 12, 2010)-Tourism Cares, the travel and tourism industry’s premier philanthropy with a mission to preserve the travel experience for the benefit of future generations, has now assumed the responsibility of administering the International Airlines Travel Agent Network’s (IATAN), Ronald A. Santana Foundation Scholarship Fund. IATAN, the travel industry’s premier accreditation program, realized the benefit of having Tourism Cares, which now promotes and administers the scholarship programs of both NTA and ASTA, handle its long established fund.
The IATAN Foundation was established in 1996 in memory of the late Ronald A Santana. Santana was a member of the IATAN Board, a past president of the Association of Retail Agents (ARTA) and a travel agency owner and advisor. The fund was established to recognize his dedication and tireless efforts toward the education of travel agents. The fund has since awarded more than $82,500 in scholarships to IATAN accredited agents and to those wishing to begin their careers in travel and have met the scholarship criteria. The criteria tie in with IATAN’s mission to promote professionalism, administer meaningful and impartial business standards, and provide cost-effective products and services that benefit the travel industry.
“The Ron Santana Memorial Foundation was created to provide scholarships to those who were inspired to join our exciting travel industry,” said Bert Rivero, IATAN’s Regional Director for The Americas. “Many deserving people have benefited from the scholarships in the last 14 years that IATAN and its Board wanted to ensure these scholarships were protected and continue to serve our industry. There was no doubt that Tourism Cares was the right organization to promote and administer the fund to the high standards that IATAN has maintained for so many years. IATAN’s pledge to continue to support the Ron Santana Memorial Foundation has been and will continue to be unwavering.”
“It’s an honor for Tourism Cares to be the official philanthropy of IATAN,” said Bruce Beckham, Tourism Cares’ Executive Director. “The addition of the IATAN Ronald A. Santana Memorial Scholarships, when combined with the academic and professional development scholarships we now administer, will allow Tourism Cares to award more than $100,000 per year to deserving members of the present and future travel industry workforce. That’s very exciting for everyone involved, especially during these challenging economic times.”
In 2010, five $1,000 IATAN Ronald A. Santana Memorial Professional Development Scholarships will be awarded to applicants who are entering or working in the travel, tourism or hospitality industry. These will be used toward reimbursement of the costs of successfully completed travel-and-tourism or hospitality certificate programs at U. S. state-licensed schools. The application deadline is Thursday, July 1, 2010 5 pm EDT. For more information, please visit the Tourism Cares Professional Development Scholarships webpage at
http://www.tourismcares.org/scholarships/professional-development-scholarships.
In addition, beginning in 2011, the Santana Fund will feature academic scholarships. Information about those awards will be available at a later date.
Tourism Cares is a 501c(3) non-profit public charity that benefits society by preserving the travel experience for future generations by awarding grants to natural, cultural and historic sites worldwide; by presenting academic, professional development and service-learning scholarships to students of hospitality and tourism; and by organizing volunteer efforts to restore tourism-related sites in need of care and rejuvenation. For additional information about Tourism Cares, visit www.tourismcares.org.
IATAN Accreditation Programs promote professionalism, administers meaningful and impartial business standards and provides cost-effective products and services that benefit the travel industry. Guided by a diversified board comprised of all sectors of the industry, including travel agencies, home based businesses, large corporations, hotel, cruise lines and airlines, IATAN provides a vital link between the suppliers community and the U.S. travel distribution network. For more information about IATAN, visit www.iatan.org.
