Quarterly News & Updates

December 2023

TSLF Awards Six Scholarships to TCC Students

The TSLF awards scholarships to TCC Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts students annually. Six scholarships were awarded to TCC students this year. The scholarships were awarded to Lizbeth Aguilar, Destiny Calvillo, Jessica Hasty, Brenda Long, Natasha McLemore, and Joselyn Torres.

TSLF will award over $12,000 in scholarships and mentoring assistance to this year's scholarship recipients during the students’ years of study. Scholarships are awarded based on eligibility guidelines. The scholarships are sponsored by Texas Live!.

Scholarship recipients will participate in the TSLF Milestones Mentoring program this school year. The one-year program offers the students the opportunity to meet in an individual and a group setting with life coaches. Each scholarship recipient is assigned an industry mentor during their second year in the program.

To volunteer to serve as an industry mentor, contact TaShunda Scott at TaShunda@Spark-Arlington.com.

Francis Kobty Scholarship Awarded to a TCC Student

The Francis Kobty Hospitality Scholarship was awarded to Tony Chiles, a TCC Culinary Arts student and an Arlington ISD Lamar High School graduate. The Kobty family, the owners of the Prince Lebanese Grill, created the scholarship in memory of Francis Kobty, the founder of the Prince Lebanese Grill.

The scholarship was created through the Travel & Sports Legacy Foundation. The full scholarship covers tuition, books, and supporting materials and the recipient will be mentored by Aziz Kobty. The scholarship is awarded annually to a TCC Culinary Arts student, and a graduate of an Arlington ISD or a Mansfield ISD high school.

Save the Date!

The TSLF Annual Meeting will be held on May 8, 2024 at the Dr. Marcelo Cavazos Center for Visual & Performing Arts.

Invest in TSLF

The TSLF’s sponsored and affiliated programs impacted over 700 students during the 2022-2023 school year including students from the Arlington ISD, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, Tarrant County College, and UT Arlington through the foundation’s’ involvement with workforce initiatives, travel and sports, discovery tours, presentations, scholarships, and mentoring programs.

The tourism industry was one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic. Many tourism jobs remain unfilled today.

TSLF provides career exploration programs, college scholarships and mentoring program assistance for individuals interested in tourism jobs and careers.

DFW Travel/Hospitality Employment Growing

By Brent DeRaad

President & CEO

Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau

Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, travel and hospitality employment has grown by 100,000 jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area during the past decade.

Approximately 320,000 people were employed in local travel and hospitality jobs in 2013 with that average growing to 420,000 in 2023, a 30% increase.

As the Dallas Metroplex continues to grow, so will the number of employment opportunities, particularly in hotels and restaurants. Current statistics show that more than 1 million U.S. jobs are open in these sectors. Another 178,000 U.S. jobs are available today in arts, entertainment, and recreation.

With travel and hospitality jobs representing 9% of all U.S. employment opportunities, it simply makes sense to explore careers in these industries based on the number of available jobs, rising wages and unlimited career advancement opportunities.

While we fully acknowledge that some open travel and hospitality positions are front-line jobs, companies in these sectors also need employees in other fields to help operate their businesses.

Accountants, chief financial officers, web developers, human resources professionals, marketing and communications staffers, salespeople, information technology workers, and more, including CEOs, are employed by leisure and hospitality companies.

We at the Travel & Sports Legacy Foundation encourage you to explore classes and programs at Tarrant County College and the University of Texas Arlington to learn whether the travel and hospitality fields interest you. And please remember that we offer scholarships, job training and internship placement assistance in the travel, hospitality, and sports fields.

Please visit TravelandSportsLegacyFoundation.org for additional information.

TSLF Guest Speakers Program

TSLF kicked off the foundation’s Guest Speakers Program in November during a session with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County members. The preeminent program delivers programs to high school and college students by bringing speakers into the high school and college classrooms to speak to students about careers in travel and tourism and sports management.

Matt Wilson, Executive Director, Arlington Sports Commission and Senior Vice President of Sports, Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, was the featured speaker.

Careers in travel and sports are upwardly mobile and can help transform lives by creating career opportunities for individuals from underserved communities.

Excitement is building in Arlington! With over 15.1 million visitors annually, Arlington is home to the Texas Rangers, the 2023 World Series Champions. Major League Baseball with host the MLB All-Star Game in 2024 in Arlington, followed by the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2030. Arlington is bustling with sporting events, concerts, and conventions. Click here for more information about events in Arlington.

TSLF has added a Resources Page to the website.

The page includes articles and videos about job opportunities and trends in the travel and tourism industry. Click here for the resources page. Share this information with students and colleagues as appropriate.

View Resources Page

Stay connected to TSLF through Facebook, LinkedIn, and the TSLF website to learn more about travel and sports management programs for high school and college students.

The Travel & Sports Legacy Foundation is the 501c3 nonprofit charitable arm of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. TSLF connects the community with great careers, tourism enterprises with talented people, and the tourism industry with a more sustainable and employable future.

The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau markets and develops the city as a premier sports, business, and leisure entertainment destination to achieve new tourism spending benefits for the visitor industry, the community, and its residents.