Company Establishes $25,000 John E. Clinton Annual Student Scholarship to Honor President and CEO of Shippensburg U. Foundation
STATE COLLEGE, PA, OCTOBER 12, 2015– Shaner Hotel Group, one of the hospitality industry’s leading owner–operators of full– and select–service hotels, today announced that it will manage and operate the just-opened Courtyard by Marriott hotel at Shippensburg University’s Conference Center in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The select-service hotel is a for-profit, joint venture partnership between the Shippensburg University Foundation’s Raider Capital Ventures and Shaner Hotel Holdings.
The four-story, 110-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel will feature an innovative new lobby space; a refreshing and contemporary room design; functional work space with a desk “on wheels”; upgraded, spacious bathrooms; a separate seating area and “LoungeAround” sofa, and complimentary high-speed Internet access.
The hotel amenities include a casual bistro featuring healthy menu options for breakfast and dinner and cocktails, wine and beer service; a 24/7 guest shop offering snacks and beverages; an indoor heated swimming pool and whirlpool spa; a complete fitness center; and an outdoor courtyard with gas fire pit and barbeque grill. The hotel will also offer 1,230 square-feet of meeting space that can accommodate functions of up to 75 people. The hotel will employ up to 50 people.
Plato Ghinos, President of Shaner Hotel Group, said the company believes the hotel will be an exciting addition to the university’s Conference Center complex and H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center and will help bolster and serve the growing local economy. “Our joint venture partnership with the foundation reflects requests from local corporations to attract and retain new businesses and establish the Conference Center as one of the premier meeting facilities in Central Pennsylvania. We see the hotel as important economic driver in helping achieve that goal,” he remarked.
In making the hotel management announcement, Ghinos also announced that Shaner Hotel Group has established a $25,000 annual student scholarship in the name of Shippensburg University Foundation President and CEO, John E. Clinton, who has been instrumental in building the foundation’s assets from $1 million in 1983 to more than $77 million in 2015. The scholarship for tuition and academic fees will be awarded annually to a student enrolled in a Marketing, Management or Accounting degree program administered by the John L. Grove College of Business. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and agree to complete an official, compensated internship with the Shaner Hotel Group during the applicant’s junior year spring semester or senior year fall semester.
“We are extremely honored to be able to recognize John Clinton’s significant contributions to the foundation and the university and reward high-performing students who demonstrate outstanding academic success, personal character and citizenship,” said Ghinos. “We trust this scholarship program will have a lasting impact on the university and its students for years to come.”
