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Michael M. Boyle Scholarship Last year, the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association awarded over $43,000 in scholarship funds to Philadelphia area students pursuing careers in hotel management. The scholarships are named in honor of Mike Boyle, past president of GPHA and founder of the scholarship program, and are presented at GPHA's annual luncheon each December. To date over $300,000 has been awarded.
Michael M. Boyle was a tireless visionary and a staunch advocate for Philadelphia's emerging hospitality industry. His death from cancer in 2001 was a tragic blow to everyone who knew him and who admired his energy on behalf of Philadelphia's tourism.
He had a lifelong passion for Philadelphia. He grew up savvy and street-smart in the Grays Ferry section. Early on, he came to see his hometown was a place not only of long historical traditions, but also of unlimited opportunity for the future.
His first job in the hotel industry was as a desk clerk at what was then the Bellevue Strafford. He rose rapidly through the hotel sector and soon had a high-visibility regional sales job for ITT Sheraton. By the early 1980's, he had become the influential vice president of sales for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.
He was a key figure in the revival of Philadelphia's hospitality industry. He served as president of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association from 1998 to 2000 and was a founding member of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. He also had a keen sense for what made people want to visit the City of Brotherly Love. He was a founding board member of Lights of Liberty, Inc., and was active in promoting the $1.5 million sound-and-light extravaganza at Independence Park. In 1993, he and his partners at Valley Forge Investment Corp. bought the Omni at Independence Park where Mike served as GM until his death.
The Michael M. Boyle Scholarship Fund, managed by The Philadelphia Foundation, provides scholarships for the employees of GPHA member hotels and their family members, high school students and college students enrolled in a hospitality/culinary management program pursuing careers in the hospitality management.
Send in your application today!
Click here to download the high school criteria and application. |
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“Thank you for everything, I am thrilled to go to Hartwick College, and extremely grateful that the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association's Michael Boyle Scholarship will help me go there. The last few months have certainly been both rewarding and exciting for me.” -- Alyssa Pearson, Great Valley High School and 2007 Michael M. Boyle Scholarship Recipient |
