Eugene Walker, CMP – A Steadfast Pillar to the GMC PCMA Community

In 2003, the GMC PCMA added two new awards, bringing the total number of annual member recognition awards to four. These awards honor those GMC members who go above and beyond the call of their PCMA and career duties. The Pulse will profile each of the 2003 award winners in upcoming issues of the Pulse.

This month, we’re having a conversation with Eugene Walker, CMP, winner of the 2003 Pillar Award.

The Pillar Award recognizes a chapter member who supports the chapter through their consistent participation. One of the many attributes of a Pillar award winner is significant contributions to the advancement of the industry. Guiding and mentoring PCMA’s student members to become industry professionals is one of the best ways to advance our industry. During his four-year tenure with the Greater Midwest Chapter, the Student Membership Committee went from a fledgling start-up idea under the Awards Committee to becoming a premier, stand-alone working GMC committee with the largest student member participation in the country. I recently sat down with Gene to discuss how the committee achieved such significant growth – and to learn a little more about the man leading and cheering the committee’s success.

CL: Gene, what was your start into the hospitality industry?

EW: I was a math pre-med major at Cornell University. I kind of liked dentistry and thought about becoming a dentist. During a break in my college career, a few of my professors suggested that I transfer to the Hotel School at Cornell. The idea intrigued me and (my hospitality) life began. During my time at Cornell, I held various internships, including managing three German restaurants and being a front desk management trainee at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

CL: What brought you to Chicago?

EW: After spending eight years with the Greater Boston CVB as convention services and housing director, I had a desire to do more in a sales capacity. Boston had just decided to open a Chicago Regional Sales Office and offered me the #2 spot. And here I am.

CL: I know you’ve enjoyed your time in Chicago. Do you have any regrets about moving to Chicago or becoming a part of the ever-changing hospitality industry?

EW: No regrets. Well, the only ‘possible’ regret is that I have not been able to also pursue my love of teaching. I taught junior-high and high school students in Guyana during two college summer breaks. I have also served as an instructor and mentor within various organizations over the year.

CL: That’s a great segue into discussing your involvement with the GMC PCMA Student Membership Committee. How did you choose that committee to join when you first became a member of PCMA?

EW: I joined the Membership Committee. I was then asked by the board liaison to become chair of a new sub-committee, Student Membership.

CL: Why were you, a relative newcomer to GMC, asked to head this new initiative?

EW: Probably because of my experience in working with young people. During my tenure with Boston, I was on the advisory board of the Boston Academy for Travel & Tourism. I set up the first mentoring program for Academy Students. In addition, I was active with the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC). The PIC had developed a minority management program for people of color working in non-management positions within the hospitality industry. I gave the opening General Session for the program for two consecutive years.

CL: Wow, I guess you did have the background to chair this committee. Kudos to the board liaison and committee chair to see your talents and let you run with it. So, now you’re the chair. What were the first steps to get things off the ground?

EW: I immediately began to recruit members. The committee needed people who had a vested interest in students. I went to college hospitality program professors within our region and two schools jumped on board. We had both planners and suppliers who needed interns and new employees. There were also other PCMA members looking for a committee to join and knew me so they came on board, as well.

CL: I’m surprised that with the success of the committee, the committee did not grow to be as large as say…Community Services.

EW: We decided to keep it small because we needed to determine our mission and develop a plan. More could be accomplished in a smaller, working group. Our first order of business was to contact PCMA Headquarters and get their national agenda for student membership. We involved the PCMA national membership/student membership coordinator. We learned that the Southwest/Pacific Chapters and the Lonestar Chapters had the highest numbers of student members to date. We talked with those chapters to get some ideas, as well. So after doing our homework, we came up with our goals. They were: a) Figuring out what would attract students to join PCMA; b) find and solicit internships for these student members; and c) come up with a list of schools and hospitality programs to find student members. The tasks were delegated amongst committee members and we went to work.

CL: And your work yielded great success and new student members in pretty large numbers. How did this small sub-committee become a stand-alone working GMC committee?

EW: Once it was recognized that GMC had the largest student membership in the country, the GMC Board decided to make Student Membership a stand-alone committee. We were asked to answer questions about how we grew the membership during the National Membership Committee Meeting during the 2002 PCMA Annual in Anaheim.

CL: And that is where you were also acknowledged during a general session for your committee’s accomplishments and hard work, right.

EW: Right (with a shy smile and blush).

CL: Don’t go getting modest on me! Seriously though, isn’t it hard to let go of being chair of this committee? You put some hard work into building it to what it is today.

EW: Nope! I could have stayed on as a committee member; however, it was time for someone else to take over and give the committee the “umph” needed to take it to the next level. I also get a chance to do something different. The key for me is helping others. So now I’ve joined Community Services.

CL: I see. Good for you. Community Services is very lucky to add such a talented person with a giving spirit to their terrific team. And I am sure that those students (and those committee members) you helped will keep you in the loop.

As a parting comment, what advice would you give to a new member of PCMA?

EW: Get involved in a committee. Find one that is of interest to you and speaks to your heart. Be a contributor and you will get more out of your PCMA experience.

CL: Gene, thanks for your time and your insights.

Cherai Lewis
cmlewis.enteract@rcn.com

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