Tickets Available to SMASH Event Benefiting U of A Hospitality Program

Artwork courtesy of Judy Howard

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Hospitality innovation students at the University of Arkansas will showcase their skills at the seventh annual SMASH event, a fine dining experience to benefit the program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Tickets are now available to the reception and dinner, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at the Chancellor Hotel in Fayetteville.

Previously known as “A Class Act,” the event’s name has changed to SMASH – Students Mastering the Art of Southern Hospitality. Proceeds help fund scholarships for hospitality innovation students, professional development for students and faculty, equipment, supplies and research.

The reception is 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with dinner from 7 to 8:30 p.m. During dinner, donors, scholarship recipients and students will be recognized. From 9 to midnight, beverage stations will be open, and music will be provided for dancing.

The weekend begins with Friday’s Arkansas Hospitality Leadership Forum from 3 to 6 p.m. and a hospitality alumni reception from 6:15 to 9 p.m. Saturday includes a career networking session for fulltime job and internship interviews from 10 a.m. to noon, and a Q&A on revenue management strategies and tourism analytics from 4 to 5:15 p.m. followed by the ticketed SMASH reception and dinner at 5:30.

“This is truly a phenomenal event for our students to showcase their menu design, catering, serving and overall hospitality skills while having the opportunity to earn scholarship funds – all for doing what they do best,” said associate professor Kelly Way. “SMASH allows our students to learn from industry leaders during the forum and to have an intimate location for our students to interview for internships and fulltime positions with those leaders who have a vested interest in our students and our hospitality program.”  

Tickets for Saturday’s SMASH event are $75 each, and include the reception, dinner, wine and entertainment. A SMASH Couples Package is $125 per couple. A Hospitality Alumni Package includes the reception and dinner, and Friday’s alumni social for $75.

“We are excited to welcome back our hospitality alumni as guests,” said Way. “It’s an inspiration for our current students to see past graduates and what they’ve accomplished since graduation. Our alumni miss the ‘Ville and we are calling them home.”

Sponsorships are also available. A Sponsor’s Table at the dinner, for eight guests, is $500. Corporate packages include the Diamond for up to eight guests ($3,000), Gold for six guests ($2,000), Silver for four guests ($1,500) and Bronze for four guests ($1,000) with interview tables at the networking event and various levels of acknowledgement throughout the event.

To purchase tickets, go here. For more information, contact Godwin-Charles Ogbeide at 479-575-2579 or gogbeide@uark.edu or Lobat Siahmakoun at 479-575-4700 or lsiahmak@uark.edu.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.