December 2nd, 2015 – HSMAI South Florida continued the awarding of its Dr. Peter Ricci Scholarship at the 2015 Annual GALA held at the brand new Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. Dr. Peter Ricci, Director of the Hospitality Management Program at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) presented a $4000 scholarship check to student Mikhail Guseynov, a senior at FAU. This scholarship fund offers students enrolled in either an undergraduate or graduate hospitality degreed program throughout any of the South Florida educational institutions an opportunity to receive financial assistance based on the merit of their application and personal achievements. South Florida hosts many college-level hospitality & tourism management programs and the scholarship is open to students from any post-secondary program. Dr. Ricci was singled out for the naming of this scholarship honor based on his years of personal commitment to the HSMAI South Florida Chapter and his dedication to educating future generations of hospitality professionals. His vision for empowering students to achieve excellence by encouraging their affiliation with HSMAI and other hospitality associations demonstrates his passion for our industry and for ensuring its continued growth and development. The HSMAI South Florida Chapter is now accepting Scholarship applications from students pursuing careers in hospitality sales and marketing, management or revenue management. Scholarships are awarded based on merit and complete eligibility criteria and requirements are outlined on the HSMAI South Florida website: http://connect.hsmai.org/SouthFlorida/Home/ Applications must be submitted by June 30 and winners are announced each year in early August prior to the December Annual GALA. For further information, please contact: hsmaisouthflorida@gmail.com