Press Release
For Immediate Release
10 November 2009
ACTE Canada Scholarship Program Attracts Best New Minds to the Travel Management Profession
Toronto --
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) – in conjunction with the Canadian Hospitality Foundation (CHF) – presented two college students with $2,500 scholarships as part of the ceremonies at the ACTE Canada Education Conference today in Toronto. More than 300 registered business travel management executives congratulated Lauren Demenok and Nathan Bird for their high levels of educational standing and for their extra curricula achievements in the business travel industry.
“These students embody the spirit and enthusiasm of the global business travel profession,” said Annemarie Reininger, ACTE Board Member and former Canada Regional Chair. “Their educational excellence is exceeded only by their commitment to a career in a profession that combines science, technology, economics, and global politics with the tenets of business. Lauren Demenok and Nathan Bird are the future we envision for our profession.”
Reininger added that this is the second year that the scholarships have been awarded by ACTE Canada, one to a student in the Eastern Region of Canada and the other to a student in the Western Region.
Representing the Eastern Region, Lauren Demenok is in her second year of the fast track program of Tourism Management, majoring in Travel Industry Services, at Humber College in Toronto. Demenok has worked in customer service for more than ten years, and most recently had the opportunity to combine work and travel while employed by Princess Cruises.
“My experience with Princess Cruises is where I discovered that my real passion for travel could also be my career,” said Demenok. “My goal after graduating is to be involved in either the cruise industry or ecotourism.”
Nathan Bird, from the Western Region, is completing his second year of Administration, with a major in Tourism Management, at Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia. Bird has been employed in the tourism and food industry for the past 19 years, since the age of eleven. He currently manages the operations of three separate small companies: Victoria Fun Foods, Eco Scooter, and Vintage Rent-A-Car in Victoria’s inner harbor. Bird has also worked overseas in Hong Kong, China, as a volunteer for an international shipping company devoted to providing goods to the less fortunate worldwide.
“I would like to own my own company in Victoria,” said Bird. “My work experience and passion are in the tourism and food industry. I plan to attend Royal Roads University when I finish my program at Camosun, to complete the Entrepreneurial Management program.”
Of Bird, James McGregor, Owner, Victoria Fun Foods, said, “Nathan is a visionary and entrepreneur, and one of the brightest minds I have ever met. He demands the best of himself and those around him. He is a true leader.”
The ACTE Canada scholarship program fulfills two ob
ABOUT ACTE:
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €463 billion business travel industry. Our members serve more than 12 million business travellers worldwide. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has representation in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.
For more information, contact:
Monica Hailstone
Regional Director, Canada
Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)
Phone: 1-613-836-7652
Email: [email protected]
For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com