Belden to Be Honored, DeBoer Speaking at A Class Act V Fundraiser

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Jack DeBoer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In conjunction with this week’s A Class Act V event, Ted Belden, owner of the Inn at Carnall Hall will receive a hospitality award and Jack DeBoer, author and creator of the extended-stay lodging concept, will present the guest lecture.

A Class Act V is a fundraising and career networking event for the hospitality and restaurant management program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The annual event showcases authentic Arkansas hospitality, cuisine and entertainment.

The event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23, at the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Ark., and it will provide industry recruiters the chance to see potential employees in action and participate in a networking event when students will be available to interview for internships, and part-time and full-time positions.

The theme for this year’s Class Act is “The Physiology of Taste.” Packages include an overnight stay in the historic hotel, a reception with hors d’oeuvre stations, wine service, a silent auction, dinner featuring an Arkansas-inspired menu and entertainment on Friday. A breakfast buffet in the Crystal Dining Room is offered on Saturday, followed by an opportunity to participate in Career Networking Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Each year the event program recognizes someone who has made a regional, national or international contribution to the hospitality field. Ted Belden will be presented the 2013 A Class Act Industry Award for Hospitality.

Belden was instrumental in the conversion of the historic Carnall Hall at the University of Arkansas into a 50-room hotel, which opened in 2003. A collaboration with the university, the Inn provides classroom space and experiential learning opportunities for students in the hospitality and restaurant management program. The program had around 25 majors before the building was converted; it now has around 250 hospitality majors and 230 in dietetics.

The Inn has also contributed to the quality of life in Fayetteville, providing a unique brand of hospitality and quality dining in Ella’s restaurant.

“Mr. Belden’s preservation of the Inn at Carnall Hall has had a lasting impact on the lives of our students and the Fayetteville community,” said Bob Harrington, professor of food, human nutrition and hospitality.

Jack DeBoer, author of Risk Only Money and creator of the extended-stay lodging concept, will be the keynote speaker. A 1952 graduate of Michigan State, he founded Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites and Candlewood Suites. The first Residence Inn, an all-suite hotel, was built in Wichita, Kan., in 1975. DeBoer also created Value Place, a short-term apartment concept.

A past president of the Wichita Area Chamber, he is one of the founders of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University and a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of Youth for Understanding, the world’s leading student exchange organization.

“We are thrilled that Jack DeBoer will be this year’s industry speaker,” said Harrington. “He is sure to provide inspiration to these future leaders of the hospitality industry.”

DeBoer received UCLA’s hotel industry Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, the Lodging Conference Above and Beyond Award in 2010 and was inducted into the Hospitality Industry Hall of Honor at the University of Houston in 2012.

Students and faculty from other universities who have heard DeBoer speak say his lectures are inspirational and “once in a lifetime” experiences.

For information on participating in the event, contact Leanna Potts at 479-575-7131 or lpotts@uark.edu.