The Jim Fausel Memorial Scholarship has been created in partnership with Meeting Professionals International to honor the memory of James (Jim) A. Fausel, Sr., an esteemed member of Meeting Professionals International and other organizations dedicated to the hospitality profession. This scholarship is applicable to students and industry professionals wishing to further their professional pursuits through higher education or certification. Each quarter, one scholarship will be awarded to a college student for academic related activities and one scholarship will be awarded to an industry professional wishing to take the MPI CMP Online Study Guide Program, with the goal of achieving a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation.

Jim Fausel was an active member of MPI for over 25 years and had been in the meetings industry for 32 years representing government, non-profit and religious organizations. Jim was the past President of the Arizona Chapter of MPI and the local chapter of SGMP, while being an active member of PCMA, RCMA, ASAE and IAHMP.

In addition to his many years of meeting planning and training experience, he had written several training manuals for Boards of Directors, meeting planners and paraprofessionals on various skill building programs. During his time as a meeting planner, Jim organized over 1500 training programs and meetings for boards, corporations and national and international government agencies. Jim was recognized by MPI as Meeting Planner of the Year in 1988 and 1994 and received SGMP's President's award of excellence in 1991. He was appointed by the Convention Liaison Council as MPI's representative to the CMP Board for three years and in 1995 was the first North American to receive the coveted certification in International Meeting Management, the CMM designation.

In his final years, Jim acted as faculty for Arizona State University's Meetings Management degree program, was the catalyst behind MPI's online CMP certification program and had built his company, Global Conference Associates, later meetGCA, into a provider of international meetings, conference and travel management recognizing the needs of the international meetings community and the changing corporate landscape and market share opportunities.

After a short battle with Colon Cancer, Jim passed away in October 2008, leaving behind a legacy of education, training, and mentoring for future leaders in the industry to follow. It is with great pleasure that we have made available a scholarship supported by the MPI Foundation to remember the contributions in the education and certification field within the meetings and hospitality industry. All industry members, whether in college or looking to grow their knowledge base through additional certification after having been in the field for many years, are welcome to apply and benefit from the mentoring and leadership that Jim Fausel worked tirelessly to provide his students.

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