HOUSTON, Oct. 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Exceptional students from across Texas will receive scholarships from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation during a luncheon ceremony Thursday, October 28, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, San Antonio, Texas.
Now celebrating its 22nd anniversary, the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation honors members of the state's business community whose visions and careers have helped to place Texas at the forefront of the 21st century economy and seeks out the future entrepreneurs and leaders that will allow Texas to maintain this presence in the future. This year the foundation will honor thirteen graduate students working towards their master's degrees in business administration at Texas colleges and universities, awarding each a $5,000 scholarship.
"A common theme clearly resonates from our 2004 scholarship recipients," said Charlie Amato, chairman of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. "Honor, integrity and hard work, combined with a passion for challenge, has allowed each recipient to achieve this honor. The Foundation is proud to reward them and to assist them as they strive to make a difference in the Texas of tomorrow." To date, the Texas Business Hall of Fame has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to students pursuing a business education at Texas' leading institutions of higher learning.
Students seeking a scholarship from The Texas Business Hall of Fame must be nominated by the dean of their MBA school, maintain a 3.5 grade point average or better, have completed at least one semester in an MBA program and demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit.
Students who will be receiving $5,000 scholarships toward their MBA include:
Kurt Ryan Averhoff, Texas Tech University Jon Christian Bates, University of Houston Jennifer Marie Dallas, Texas Christian University Debashish Das, The University of Texas at Dallas Lesley Freeberg, Baylor University Brenda Hankinson, University of Dallas Suzanne Hines, Southern Methodist University Jennifer Maxwell, Rice University Christopher Mark McClung, University of Texas at Austin Catherine Clestine Odasz, Sam Houston State University Aaron Scott Terry, Texas A&M University Laurette Trotty, Texas Southern University Annetta Maria Guillory Villarreal, University of Texas at San Antonio
In addition to the scholarship winners, The Texas Business Hall of Fame will honor five Texas Business leaders. The honorees include: Tilman J. Fertitta, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Landry's Restaurants, Inc., a Houston, Texas based restaurant enterprise, which owns and operates over 300 restaurants across the United States; Matt F. Gorges, Rio Grande Valley food processor of products including, meat, seafood and vegetables; Peter M. Holt, chief executive officer of HOLT CAT, the largest Caterpillar dealership in the United States, headquartered in San Antonio and chairman and chief executive officer of Spurs Sports & Entertainment; Rosemary E. Kowalski, founder and chairman emeritus of The RK Group, an award-winning San Antonio-based catering business; and Lowell H. Lebermann, Jr., chairman of Centex Beverage Inc., a wholesale distributor of Miller Brewing Company products and imported beverages in Austin, Texas.
About TBHF
The Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation is a non-profit organization of 100 directors who are business leaders from cities throughout the state. The organization's mission is to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Texas business leaders, to perpetuate and inspire the values of entrepreneurial spirit, personal integrity and community leadership in all generations of Texans. This mission is achieved by inducting honorees at an annual dinner, publicizing their accomplishments throughout the state and providing financial support for business education in Texas. For additional information, contact the TBHF office at (713) 993-9433 or visit www.texasbusiness.org. Media inquiries, please contact (248) 554-0845.