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Hospitality and Tourism Management Students Selected as 2024 Student Ambassadors for the Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism

Archives for August 2024

Hospitality and Tourism Management Students Selected as 2024 Student Ambassadors for the Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism

Hospitality and Tourism Management Students Selected as 2024 Student Ambassadors for the Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism

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Hospitality and Tourism Management Students Selected as 2024 Student Ambassadors for the Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism

Three students from the Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management (RHTM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville are heading to the 2024 Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism (GovCon) in Chattanooga as Student Ambassadors. Erin Cosentino, Paul Vaughn, and Lily Vincent, seniors in the Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) program, will represent both HTM and the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association (TNHTA) at this event.

Pictured L-R Top Row: Austin Anderson, Paul Vaughn, Yasmin Onsipahioglu Bottom Row: Lilly Vincent, Virginia Williams, Erin Cosentino

TNHTA invited applications for 10 ambassador positions statewide, with a maximum of three spots per institution. All three applicants from UT’s HTM program were selected, highlighting their leadership potential and qualifications. The TNHTA’s expense-paid ambassadorship for the 2024 GovCon will provide them with an exceptional opportunity to enhance their professional networks within the hospitality and tourism industry.

“Opportunities like this highlight what sets our hospitality and tourism management program apart,” said Christopher Kelley, Senior Coordinator for the HTM program. “We are dedicated to connecting our students with the hospitality and tourism industry through initiatives such as this”

Erin Cosentino, a senior in HTM and one of the 2024 GovCon Ambassadors, is looking forward to the conference. “I’m thrilled to attend the Governor’s Conference this year! This is a fantastic chance to network and build connections in the industry, which is crucial as I approach my job search after graduation. Being from out of state, I’m also excited to meet more industry professionals here in Tennessee.”

“I’m beyond excited and grateful for this opportunity to attend Chattanooga GovCon with my UT peers and learn how Tennessee maintains its status as a popular destination,” said Paul Vaughn, also a senior in HTM and 2024 GovCon Ambassador. “This opportunity will help me grow as a student and young person and network with industry professionals and State of Tennessee leadership.”

The Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism is an annual event organized by TNHTA and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. It brings together representatives from various segments of the hospitality and tourism industry and related government agencies. Last year’s conference attracted over 550 attendees, and this year’s event, which will be held on September 25-27, 2024, is anticipated to be equally impressive.

“I am delighted that all three of our RHTM students were recognized for their outstanding qualifications,” said Junehee Kwon, Department Head of RHTM, located in the UT College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. “Providing experiential learning opportunities is a core goal for us, and collaborating with industry leaders across the state to achieve this is truly exciting.”

In addition to the three TNHTA ambassadors, the RHTM department will sponsor three additional HTM students for this opportunity. Austin Anderson (Freshman), Yasmin Onsipahioglu (Junior), and Virginia Williams (Senior) will participate in this exciting event, which is made possible by proceeds from the Annual RHTM Student Enrichment Fundraiser.

Food4VOLS Receives Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award

Food4VOLS Receives Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award

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Food4VOLS Receives Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award

Reprinted from 2024 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards Announcement

The University of Tennessee’s Food4VOLS is a food recovery, transformation, and distribution program housed within the UT Culinary Institute in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS). By recovering unused and overproduced food, Food4VOLS has diverted 300,000 pounds of food and fought food insecurity in four counties in and around UT since the inception of the program. This diverted food equates to a reduction in greenhouse gases by almost 1 million pounds. The food is donated both on campus to hungry students and off campus to non-profits serving Tennesseans. This program is one of a kind in the USA, and already there are two other universities that will be implementing the program in South Carolina and Montana.

Partnering with Vol Dining, Food4VOLS recovers food from more than 12 different locations on campus ranging from catering, fast food locations, athletic dining, and large campus dining halls. To make the program successful, Food4VOLS provides each Vol Dining location with plastic food containers at the end of service. Daily recovery of food averages over 500 pounds of food that falls into four categories – protein, starch, vegetable/produce, and dessert items. Each location’s food recovery is recorded by weight and category allowing Food4VOLS to assist Vol Dining with data that can reduce overproduction and overall waste generation.

Currently Food4VOLS distributes the bulk of the prepared meals to Big Orange Pantry, located in the Student Union of the UT Knoxville campus. Smaller Food4VOLS cupboards have been installed around campus in food deserts where students have little to no other food options. Each cupboard comes equipped with a fridge filled with meals, a microwave to reheat the meals on site, cutlery to be able to eat the meals, and a dry storage area where non-perishable foods are available. In 2023, Food4VOLS provided an average of 375 meals per day to Big Orange Pantry and the cupboards combined.

Each Food4VOLS ready-to-heat meal costs 27 cents to produce. All funding needed for the meals has come from public and private donations to the program. In 2023 Food4VOLS raised over $60,000 to help create the ready-to-heat meals and provide transportation for collecting and distributing the meals. While the university assists with funding for staff and facility expenses, Food4VOLS relies on donations for supplies in producing the meals.

Food4VOLS collects more food daily than can be distributed on campus via the ready-to-heat meals. Partnering with Second Harvest of East Tennessee, Food4VOLS can donate excess food to four counties (Knox, Anderson, Blount, and Sevier) daily. Non-profit partners include Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Anderson County Council on Aging, Life Changers, True Purpose Ministries, and many others. With a staff of one full-time chef and three part time federal work study students, Food4VOLS collected over 154,000 pounds of food in 2023. That translated to over 56,000 meals for the UTK campus via the ready-to-heat meals, and over 100,000 pounds of food to non-profits in four counties in East Tennessee.

In 2023, Food4VOLS was part of two grants awarded to the University of Tennessee for fighting food insecurity on college campuses that total $790,000. While collecting food from businesses is not a new concept, doing it on a college campus and supporting the university and the surrounding communities is new. Food4VOLS is a program that is easily transferable to other colleges around the state and country. Food4VOLS strives to be an innovator in addressing food insecurity and food waste both on and off college campuses.