After the clubs were put away, participants enjoyed a cocktail reception, buffet dinner, and live and silent auctions in the historic clubhouse. ALUMNI NEW VENTURE COMPETITION Entrepreneurial alumni have the opportunity to showcase their ideas for a startup and compete for $10,000 in seed money during the annual New Venture Competition. The 2012 winning business idea — “CollegeGolfPass,” was created by Kristofer Hart ’08 and MacKenzie Brown ’09. For $20 per semester, students receive discounts at 135 courses throughout New England. Among the first CollegeGolfPass users were members of the newly-formed Bryant Golf Club. Other finalists were Eric Anderson ’08 MBA with Happy Shirts; Laura Bellofatto-Bense ’90 with Bravo Hotel Travel; Miguel Dominguez ’10 and Stephen Fitch ’09 with Avant Tea; Colin Nelson ’11, Spencer Eriksen ’11, and Jesse Bischoff ’11 with GoSplitIt; and Robert Schmidt ’82 and Avi Lerner ’97 with Rentassure. The judges and sponsors included Brian Cowley ’82, Eric Bertrand ’94, José Buenaga ’82, EIG Group Corp. Insurance
Thomas F. Hewitt
Services, Edward T. Capasso ’77, Scott DePasquale ’94, Braemar Energy Ventures, Tyler Ray ’09 MBA, Esq., Duffy & Sweeney Ltd., John C. Ayers ’91, Colby Butler ’09, Willis of Massachusetts, and Jay Weinberg ’85. The faculty judges were M. Cary Collins, Ph.D.; Sandra Potter; Michael Roberto, DBA; and James Segovis, Ph.D. For 2013, this innovative competition is already generating a lot of interest from aspiring entrepreneurs and from established alumni who generously share their experiences and expertise. Past participants have said the opportunity to work with accomplished alumni and faculty as part of this competition has been invaluable. ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS In accepting his Distinguished Alumnus Award, Thomas F. Hewitt ’68 asked the audience to think back 48 years and envision a Bryant College student stepping behind the desk at the Providence Biltmore hotel as a room clerk. Hewitt said he had no idea he was embarking on the “career of a lifetime,” culminating in expanding Interstate Hotels and Resorts into the largest global management company
Philip R. Graham
H. James Magee
in the world. Hewitt, recently recognized as a 2012 HOTELS Hotelier of the World award recipient, said he has no doubt that his preparation at Bryant launched his career and led to a fulfilling professional life. Hewitt, who has served on Bryant’s Board of Trustees and chaired the University’s National Council on Philanthropy, was one of four alumni and one faculty member honored with an Alumni Achievement Award during the Alumni Recognition Dinner and Awards Ceremony on April 20. The ceremony is a highlight of Bryant’s Alumni Leadership Weekend each year. The Graduate School Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Philip R. Graham ’88 MST, senior vice president of corporate tax at Fidelity Investments, one of the largest financial institutions in the world. Graham said that he and his cohort of graduate students not only learned the fundamentals of tax law, “but we also learned from each other as well” through discussion. “We learned to exercise judgment.” His advice to young alumni is: “Use your judgment. Don’t be afraid to be wrong; it’s part of the growing process.”
Stephen L. Tully, Jr.
Stephen L. Tully, Jr. ’98 received the Young Alumnus Leadership Award. “As a graduate of Bryant, I’m proud to be working in New York City. We stand out there.” Tully serves institutional clients at Cantillon Capital Management. He expressed gratitude for the mentorship and scholarship he received at Bryant. H. James Magee ’88, the immediate past president of the National Alumni Council, received the Nelson J. Gulski Service Award. “I believe it’s important to reconnect alumni who have lost touch with Bryant and also to build a connection between students and alumni,” he says. Magee’s interactions with students on and off campus as a mentor, employer, and friend demonstrate his firm commitment to Bryant. Elizabeth J. “Betty” Yobaccio, DBA, received the Distinguished
Faculty Award. The professor and chair of the finance department, and a key architect of Bryant’s International Business program, was cited for her role as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and role model. She said she was gratified “to learn that alumni remember and appreciate my effort to make a difference in their lives.”
Elizabeth J. “Betty” Yobaccio
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