A comment from a past recipient of our scholarship.

After working my way up the ranks at the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, formerly known as the Stephen C. O’Connell Center,  I knew I stumbled on a potential career path that was fun, challenging and I was good at.   The more involved I became with the building, the more I wanted to know about the industry.  Then in 2006 I was given the opportunity to win the IAVM Venue Connect Scholarship and I won.  Not knowing what that truly meant, I excitedly flew out to San Antonio with my building directors for the conference.  What I saw was hundreds of professionals, who I aspired to become, teaching and sharing industry experiences and concerns to make each of their facilities the best it could be.  Winning the scholarship and taking the trip gave me first hand knowledge of just how large the facility industry is and also gave me the opportunity to make connections with people from all over.  To anyone who has the opportunity to win the IAVM Venue Connect Scholarship, take it and run with it because after attending the conference all I wanted to do was learn more and grow into a leader in the industry.  Since then I have done that and strive to continue that success story.
-  Lavar Smith