RPTM Kudos and Announcements 02-17-05
Congratulations Alums
Eric Rosenbaum (’81), erosenbaum@cariberoyale.com, the general manager of the Caribe Royale Resort Suites in Orlando, Florida, recently hosted RPTM faculty who were attending the Professional Golf Association Merchandise Show.
Dave Wash (’82), David_Wash@blm.gov, is a lead outdoor recreation planner for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in the Coos Bay District, Oregon.
Jason Diaz (’97), jdiaz@bcc1898.com, received the first Alumni “Pride of Lions” award from the PGM Affilated Program Group (APG). Diaz received the award during the second annual Penn State/PGM Alumni & Friends Tournament and Banquet on January 27.
Thomas Barnhart (’02), thb111@pga.com, Michael Conway (’03), mconway@pga.com, and Kevin Stanton (’04), kevinstanton@pga.com, were each recently elected to PGA membership and earned $1,000 Acushmet PGA scholarships. The scholarship is awarded to the top PGA/PGM graduates from each PGA section.
Congratulations Faculty
Patty Kleban received a Volunteer Recognition Award on February 11 during the first Centre County Special Olympics awards program. She was honored for encouraging student involvement in Special Olympics through the therapeutic recreation and the leadership class she teaches. Joe Hughes (’99) jdh174@psu.edu, also received an award for his support in the initiation of a golf program for the Special Olympic athletes, which is supported by PGM students in the same class.
Linda Caldwell authored “Self-construal in Context: A Response to Walker, Deng, and Dieser” which was published in the Journal of Leisure Research, 37 (1), 2005.
John Dattilo attended the annual Recreation and Park Department Head Meeting, which took place in Charleston, South Carolina, February 2-6. He also participated in a pre-meeting roundtable discussion of those department heads from Research 1 Universities.
Departmental Happenings
Thirty alumni and 36 current PGM students participated in the second annual Penn State/PGM Alumni & Friends Tournament and Banquet at Tuscawilla Country Club on January 27. The banquet, held in conjunction with the PGA Merchandise Show, was hosted by Tuscawilla general manager Michael Gardner (’96), mgardner@tuscawillacc.com. Students Rob Tudor, Ari Papadopoulos, Brian Krulfeifer and Bill Hook won the team award and Matt Hess won the individual award. Students also attended the Merchandise Show and met with alumni and industry leaders, interviewed for internships and positions and reviewed the newest merchandise in the golf industry. John Dattilo, Burch Wilkes and Stevie Lovell were in attendance at the events.
Notable Quotes
“I graduated from PSU three years ago in the rec field. The practicum I took in the summer led me into a full time job as a program director. I am very happy with my recreation background and experience and the practicum program you coordinate. Now that I am in the supervisory seat, I am looking for interns for the summer. We usually hire student conservation interns, but because I know how awesome the recreation field is at PSU, I wanted to see if any Penn Staters, looking for a practicum, might be interested.” – Matt Fuddy (’02),fuddy@genevepoint.org, Program and Development Services, Geneva Point Center, New Hampshire
*If you have accomplished something you would like to share with the RPTM crew, please notify me. Also, if you are aware of accomplishments or quotes by our alumni, students, or staff, please let me know so I can share the news. Thank you! – John Dattilo, Professor and Department Head jxd8@psu.edu