National Park College (NPC) hosted a virtual ribbon cutting for the new Oaklawn Foundation
Hospitality and Tourism Center Monday. The center was completed this semester in the
newly renovated first floor of the Gerald Fisher Building.
The Oaklawn Foundation invested $400,000 in 2018 to help renovate the 7,500 square
foot space. The Center was officially named the Oaklawn Foundation Hospitality and
Tourism Center last month.
Business and Technology Division Chair, Jennifer Lyons spoke about the benefits of
the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program. She said students earn three unique
certificates and have a variety of networking opportunities with industry professionals.
The program curriculum contains a significant amount of hands-on projects and earned
a 100 percent job placement rate for 2019.
CEO of Visit Hot Springs, Steve Arrison said, “What a great day for the city of Hot
Springs and National Park College, an amazing facility here. Hospitality and Tourism
are the No. 1 industry here in Hot Springs, the No. 2 industry in the state and we
have the No. 1 tourism attraction in the state with Oaklawn. What a need that National
Park College is fulfilling for us here in the city.”
Darla Thurber, Vice President for External Affairs expressed appreciation to the Oaklawn
Foundation and discussed the economic impact the tourism industry has in the community.
“In 2019, tourism in Garland County supported over 7,000 jobs and over $120 million
in annual payroll.” She noted that Oaklawn’s new hotel and casino expansion would
add hundreds of jobs locally. Visitor spending for the past decade was up over 28
percent for Garland County and local tax revenue collections grew by 47 percent. Tourism
related wages increased by 24 percent and tourism sustained jobs grew by 4 percent.
Thurber said, “We just want you to know that National Park College is committed to
investing in that workforce for the coming decade.” She noted the College’s robust
Community and Corporate Training Division provides workforce training to an average
of 2,000 individuals and approximately 75-100 organizations annually.
Eve Victory, Hospitality and Tourism Management professor provided a virtual tour
of the new space. “What this looks like for this program, what it contributes to this
program, gives the students another reason to be proud of getting a degree from here.”
She presented each of the work stations and explained how all of the new equipment
impacts the learning environment for students. “This is home and we are happy to be
here.”
Pictured left to right cutting the ribbon are Steve Arrison, Eve Victory, Jennifer
Lyons and Wade Derden.
