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The NSMH Story: A Narrative by Evan
Frazier (co-founder)
The National Society of Minorities in Hospitality does hereby dedicate
itself to the development of intensive programs in an effort to increase minority
participation and advancement in the hospitality field. These programs will
be initiated both within and outside of the university environment and will
serve to strengthen educational and professional communities.”
-Preamble NSMH Constitution
As a freshman at Cornell University’s School of Hotel
Administration in 1988-89, I remember the feeling of isolation
as being just one of a few minority students in my field.
A local campus organization that called itself the Society
of Minority Hoteliers (SMH) allowed me to see that there
were African Americans and other people of color in my major
that shared my same experience. The many wonderful activities
and friendships that formed as a result of SMH inspired me
to want to do more.
I approached Michael Burkeen, fellow colleague
and member of NSMH and shared with him my thoughts of forming
a national
umbrella organization. Michael shared his vision with me
of holding a conference that includes hospitality students
from across the country. We combined our thoughts and together
approached the members of SMH about our interest in expanding
the organization by holding a national conference and developing
an umbrella organization for minority students in hospitality.
At the time, Alfred Watts was just elected as president of
SMH and was very excited about the idea. Several months later,
Penelope Wint Urquhart became extremely involved with our
expansion efforts. Together, the four of us became the core
planning team for this new organization.
As we were securing
the resources for the conference and trying to contact minority
student organizations across the
country, we quickly came to realize that the organizations
that we thought were out there to collaborate with simply
did not exist. We found that many schools did not have any
minority students in their hospitality programs and others
that were against the idea of having minority students organized
in this way. In February 1990, we held the first conference
with approximately 75 students from across the country on
Cornell’s campus in Ithaca, New York and the National
Society of Minority Hoteliers (NSMH) was founded.
In 1992,
we held a Constitutional Convention and officially established
our first 10 chapters. During this time as I
served as National Chairperson, we also hired our first lawyer
and CPA Firm as we registered NSMH as a legal entity and
applied for 501 (c)(3) status. In 1993, we established our
first alumni president, Yariela Kerr. In 1995, under the
leadership of Tony Rodriguez (University of New Hampshire),
NSMH changed its name to the National Society of Minorities
in Hospitality.
The alumni and industry networking, educational
seminars, career opportunities, leadership development experiences,
and friendships are all reasons why individuals become involved
with NSMH. NSMH inspires me every year as I see the enthusiasm
of new members taking on leadership roles. For me, the experience
of NSMH has allowed me to think strategically about organizations
at a very young age and to build valuable relationships that
I will always treasure.
Over the years, NSMH has been inspired
by many people. From our predecessor, the late Clyde Robinson
who is known for
founding SMH at the Cornell Hotel School in the mid 1980s
to my fellow NSMH co-founders: Michael Burkeen, Alfred Watts,
and Penny Wint Urquhart, NSMH has a rich history. The national
and chapter advisors, corporate sponsors, organizational
partners, NSMH members, and alumni have all contributed to
the NSMH legacy. And ultimately, I personally believe that
it was God’s grace that has allowed NSMH and each of
us as individuals to grow and prosper.
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