Perhaps there is no greater calling or way to spend time than in the service of someone else. Further, I’d suggest that there’s no other industry more motivated by the cause, nor consumed by the spirit of service, than the catering and event industry. With our economies challenged and the rules of business consistently being re-written, service in all forms is the path to success. To this end, the Foundation of NACE is wholly committed to an energized and evolving spirit of service.

In the days to come we’ll embark on our fourth year of scholarship giving. For the first two years we awarded a single $15,000 grant. This year we gave 2 - $10,000 awards at The Experience! in Austin. July 2011 will mark our 4th year of scholarship giving, where we look forward to another fantastic gift and celebration. The Foundation of NACE is fully committed to give upwards of $300,000 of scholarship awards in the next five years. In addition to these gifts, we have an aggressive goal to drive our A.C.E. endowment to the $1 million dollar mark. At that point, we will begin to spin off up to $50,000 a year in additional giving to support higher education in the catering industry. With this money, we’ll be able to further develop and honor the Vince DeFinis Scholarship Program as well as begin to look at ways to customize our giving on a chapter level.

Thank you for your support,

Troy Conklin
President, Foundation of NACE

Our chapter currently does not have a scholarship program, but if you are interested in becoming a student member and are in need of financial or transportation assistance, please contact Jayme Galanos @ 608-225-1093 or jayme@beyondelegantevents.com